Social and cognitive factors influencing commercial chicken farmers' antimicrobial usage in Bangladesh

Adapting the Social Cognitive Theory framework, we conducted a cross-sectional study on 137 commercial chicken farms in Bangladesh to investigate factors influencing the behaviour of farmers towards the application of antimicrobials to their birds. Almost all farmers used antimicrobials to treat poultry diseases, while 38.6% also were using them to promote healthy growth of chickens and 10.2% to increase egg production or improve meat quality. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), we identified that inappropriate usage of antimicrobials (behaviour) was strongly driven by farmers' short-term goals to maintain the health of their chickens in a production cycle (beta = 0.813, p = 0.029), rather than long-term concerns. Farmers' perception about their ability to control antimicrobial administration based on their skills and opportunities (self-efficacy) marginally influenced the short-term goals of antimicrobial usage (beta = 0.301, p = 0.073). The results of this study can be used to develop targeted education programs for farmers, to reduce the application of antimicrobials in their poultry flocks.

Automated summary

Adapting the Social Cognitive Theory framework, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 137 commercial chicken farms in Bangladesh to investigate factors influencing farmers' behavior towards the application of antimicrobials. The study found that almost all farmers used antimicrobials for treating poultry diseases, with a significant percentage also using them for healthy growth and increased production. The inappropriate usage of antimicrobials was primarily driven by short-term goals, while farmers' perception of control over antimicrobial administration had a marginal influence. The study suggests the need for targeted education programs to reduce antimicrobial application in poultry flocks.