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Livestock owners' worry and fear of tick-borne diseases

Johansson, Maria LU orcid ; Mysterud, Atle and Flykt, Anders (2020) In Parasites & Vectors 13(1).
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent global changes have led to an increase in distribution of ticks towards higher elevation and latitude in Europe and livestock are at increasing risk of contracting tick-borne diseases, but psychological aspects of how this affects human well-being are rarely assessed. Departing from the theory on emotional appraisal coming from psychology, this study investigates which factors that modulate worry and fear associated with the presence of ticks among livestock owners of sheep and/or cattle. METHODS: Survey data from 775 livestock owners in Norway were analysed by hierarchical multiple regression analysis with an index of fear of tick-borne diseases among livestock as the outcome variable. RESULTS: Twenty-nine per cent... (More)

BACKGROUND: Recent global changes have led to an increase in distribution of ticks towards higher elevation and latitude in Europe and livestock are at increasing risk of contracting tick-borne diseases, but psychological aspects of how this affects human well-being are rarely assessed. Departing from the theory on emotional appraisal coming from psychology, this study investigates which factors that modulate worry and fear associated with the presence of ticks among livestock owners of sheep and/or cattle. METHODS: Survey data from 775 livestock owners in Norway were analysed by hierarchical multiple regression analysis with an index of fear of tick-borne diseases among livestock as the outcome variable. RESULTS: Twenty-nine per cent of the livestock owners reported worry and fear of tick-borne diseases among their livestock. The model explained 35% of the variance in worry and fear. There was a weak association between estimated incidences of tick-borne diseases in livestock and livestock owners' worry and fear. Whereas previous personal experience of ticks and tick-borne diseases in livestock, and the livestock owners' appraisals of the situation were more strongly associated with relatively stronger feelings of worry and fear. CONCLUSIONS: Livestock owners' worry and fear of tick-borne diseases in livestock can partly be understood as their appraisals of perceived personal relevance of the presence of ticks, its potential negative implications for their daily life at large, and what potential they have to cope by different strategies to adapt or adjust to the situation.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Coping potential, Fear, Livestock owners, Tick-borne disease
in
Parasites & Vectors
volume
13
issue
1
article number
331
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • pmid:32605620
  • scopus:85087430438
ISSN
1756-3305
DOI
10.1186/s13071-020-04162-7
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c23f60a2-26c4-4720-8529-4bcbe351396a
date added to LUP
2020-07-16 09:57:07
date last changed
2024-05-29 16:35:27
@article{c23f60a2-26c4-4720-8529-4bcbe351396a,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Recent global changes have led to an increase in distribution of ticks towards higher elevation and latitude in Europe and livestock are at increasing risk of contracting tick-borne diseases, but psychological aspects of how this affects human well-being are rarely assessed. Departing from the theory on emotional appraisal coming from psychology, this study investigates which factors that modulate worry and fear associated with the presence of ticks among livestock owners of sheep and/or cattle. METHODS: Survey data from 775 livestock owners in Norway were analysed by hierarchical multiple regression analysis with an index of fear of tick-borne diseases among livestock as the outcome variable. RESULTS: Twenty-nine per cent of the livestock owners reported worry and fear of tick-borne diseases among their livestock. The model explained 35% of the variance in worry and fear. There was a weak association between estimated incidences of tick-borne diseases in livestock and livestock owners' worry and fear. Whereas previous personal experience of ticks and tick-borne diseases in livestock, and the livestock owners' appraisals of the situation were more strongly associated with relatively stronger feelings of worry and fear. CONCLUSIONS: Livestock owners' worry and fear of tick-borne diseases in livestock can partly be understood as their appraisals of perceived personal relevance of the presence of ticks, its potential negative implications for their daily life at large, and what potential they have to cope by different strategies to adapt or adjust to the situation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Maria and Mysterud, Atle and Flykt, Anders}},
  issn         = {{1756-3305}},
  keywords     = {{Coping potential; Fear; Livestock owners; Tick-borne disease}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{Parasites & Vectors}},
  title        = {{Livestock owners' worry and fear of tick-borne diseases}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04162-7}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s13071-020-04162-7}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}