Abstract
BackgroundAfter the 2011 cluster of Hendra virus cases in horses in Australia, public health targeted education initiatives at people in the equine industry to reduce human exposure to potentially infected horses. ‘Horse owners and Hendra Virus: A Longitudinal cohort study To Evaluate Risk’ aims to enhance public health measures through improved understanding of Hendra virus risk perception and risk mitigation strategies among horse owners and horse care providers. This paper describes the stakeholder consultation that was undertaken to ensure the cohort study outcomes were relevant to diverse groups who play a role in Hendra virus policy development and implementation.MethodsA two-round modified Delphi study with online questionnaires was conducted. In round one, stakeholders identified priority research areas. In round two, stakeholders rated and ranked topics that emerged from thematic analysis of the round one responses. Round two data were analysed using logistic regression.ResultsOf the 255 stakeholders contacted, 101 responded to round one. Over 450 topics were proposed. These were organized into 18 themes. Approximately two thirds of the round one respondents participated in round two. ‘Hendra virus-related risk awareness and perception’, ‘personal health and safety’, ‘emergency preparedness’, ‘risk prevention, mitigation, and biosecurity’, and ‘Hendra virus vaccination in horses – attitudes/uptake’ were the top five areas identified according to probability of being ranked extremely important.ConclusionsIn this study, a modified Delphi approach was effective in guiding research into Hendra virus, a zoonotic disease of animal and human health significance. The findings support the notion that stakeholders should be engaged in zoonotic disease research priority setting. Such consultation will help to ensure that research initiatives are relevant and useful to stakeholders in the position to make use of new findings.
Highlights
After the 2011 cluster of Hendra virus cases in horses in Australia, public health targeted education initiatives at people in the equine industry to reduce human exposure to potentially infected horses
There is a need to engage with ‘horse people’, including individuals who own horses as well as those in regular contact with horses, to understand their perceived vulnerability to Hendra virus, their uptake of recommended risk mitigation strategies, and their unaddressed concerns and fears. This need led to funding of a three-year research project investigating these human dimensions of the Hendra virus challenge titled ‘Horse owners and Hendra Virus: A Longitudinal cohort study To Evaluate Risk’ (The HHALTER project)
There are a number of advantages to the Delphi method: it allows for inclusion of a large number of individuals over a wide geographical area; respondents can take the time they deem necessary to consider the questions before providing responses; and participants provide individual responses anonymously which guards against particular individuals directing the process [12]
Summary
After the 2011 cluster of Hendra virus cases in horses in Australia, public health targeted education initiatives at people in the equine industry to reduce human exposure to potentially infected horses. There is a need to engage with ‘horse people’, including individuals who own horses as well as those in regular contact with horses, to understand their perceived vulnerability to Hendra virus, their uptake of recommended risk mitigation strategies, and their unaddressed concerns and fears. This need led to funding of a three-year research project investigating these human dimensions of the Hendra virus challenge titled ‘Horse owners and Hendra Virus: A Longitudinal cohort study To Evaluate Risk’ (The HHALTER project)
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