Implementation and evaluation of a behaviour change intervention to reduce antimicrobial use on farms

Farmer-facing actors, such as farm advisors and veterinarians, are influential sources of support for farmers to help them adapt their farming systems to facilitate sustainable production, without over-reliance on antimicrobials. These farmer-facing support actors work at the interpersonal level to facilitate change and accordingly there is a requirement for competencies related to communication within the context.

With this in mind, the aim of this thesis is to explore behaviour change communication approaches and the effectiveness of behaviour change training for these actors, with a view to supporting on-farm behaviour change related to AMU. Firstly, to broaden our understanding of how advisors currently support behaviour change, the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy v01 (BCTTv01) was used to categorise the ‘change activities’ or behaviour change techniques (BCTs) advisors commonly deliver when working with farmers to facilitate change; twenty-one BCTs were identified, including goal setting and social support.