1,720,974 research outputs found
An Investigation of Mental Health and Occupational Stressors Among Farmers in Canada
No full textFor decades, farming has been recognized as a highly stressful occupation globally. In2016, a national survey investigating mental health outcomes among farmers in Canadafound increased levels of mental distress among this population compared to thegeneral public. Farmers are known to face a unique host of occupational stressors, andthe COVID-19 pandemic introduced additional challenges for farmers in Canada.Hence, the second wave of the national, online, cross-sectional survey of mental healthoutcomes among farmers in Canada was conducted early 2021. The survey resultsshowed increased levels of anxiety, depression, perceived stress, emotionalexhaustion, and cynicism among farmers compared to the Canadian public, particularlyamong farming women. This justified action towards identifying opportunities to reducestress and increase well-being in this population. A mixed-methods investigationprovided a comprehensive understanding of chronic and episodic farming stressors inCanada and identified promising areas for stress-reduction and well-being promotionefforts.Agriculture and Agri-Food Canad
An In-Depth Exploration into the Occupational Stressors Impacting Veterinarians’ Mental Health and the Perceived Impacts of Mental Health on Veterinarians’ Provision of Care
Get PDFVeterinarians are trained to protect the well-being of animals, clients, and the community. Unfortunately, veterinarians encounter occupational stressors that can adversely impact their mental health. Using Canadian veterinarians’ in-depth perspectives, nine occupational stressor themes were reported: 1) nature of the profession; 2) veterinary relationships; 3) client interactions; 4) personal finances; 5) new veterinarian strain; 6) practice owner strain; 7) onus of responsibility; 8) self-described personal characteristics, and 9) moral stressors and moral distress, alongside the implications of the stressors. The perceived impacts of poor mental health upon veterinarians’ provision of care were also explored. This thesis highlights participants’ perceived implications of veterinarians experiencing poor mental health, including negatively impacting colleagues and clients, reduced concentration, difficulty making decisions, and decreased quality of care. In addition, clinic-wide recommendations were also provided to foster a supportive veterinary team, prioritize mental health, and provide consistent and quality veterinary care.Zoetis Inc.Ontario Veterinary College Pet TrustUniversity of Guelp
Paratuberculosis in the Small Ruminant Dairy Industries of Ontario: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Test Evaluations
Get PDFThis thesis was to determine the prevalence and distribution of paratuberculosis in the Ontario dairy sheep and dairy goat industries, identify potential risk factors for herds which tested positive, evaluate the accuracy of seven commercially available individual and two bulk tank diagnostic tests in these two populations, and determine the circulating strains of Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis in faecal isolates obtained. A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2010 and August 2011 in 29 goat herds and 21 sheep flocks located in Ontario. On each farm, 20 lactating animals over the age of two years were randomly selected and faeces, blood, and milk were sampled from each animal, and a bulk milk sample from each herd. A questionnaire inquiring about herd management and biosecurity behaviours was also completed. The seven individual animal tests evaluated were: faecal culture using the BACTEC® MGIT™ 960 liquid culture system, direct faecal PCR (Tetracore®, Rockville, MD) based on the hspX gene, the Prionics® ELISA on serum and milk, the IDEXX® ELISA on serum and milk, and the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test on serum. The test evaluations used both frequentist (faecal culture - reference test) and Latent Class Analysis/Bayesian (LCA/BM) methods (no reference test). In goat herds, faecal culture demonstrated the highest sensitivity (Se), 81.1% (LCA/BM). In sheep, while faecal culture demonstrated the highest Se, 49.5%, there was a small probability it was higher than faecal PCR Se at 42.4%. The bulk tank tests evaluated were the 'Hyper-ELISA' test and real-time PCR test based on IS900 (AntelBio®). While PCR did not demonstrate sufficiently high Se to be used as a herd-level test, the Hyper-ELISA performed well as a herd-level test identifying farms with high prevalence when the cut-off was reduced to 0.05. Overall herd-level apparent prevalence was 79.3% in goat herds and 57.1% in sheep flocks when faecal culture was the reference standard and true herd-level prevalence (LCA/BM) was 83.0% and 66.8% in each population respectively. This high prevalence reveals a need for the implementation of a small ruminant paratuberculosis control program in Ontario, Canada based on testing, improving youngstock management, and strengthening biosecurity practices.AHSIOntario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affair
Mental health of veterinarians in Canada: Prevalence of outcomes, associations with veterinarian characteristics, and impacts on client perceptions of care
Get PDFPoor mental health in medical professionals has been associated with negative consequences for the individual, workplace, and patients/clients. There are reports of poor mental health among veterinarians in several countries, but data in Canada remain sparse. No publications to date have evaluated outcomes of care for veterinary clients or patients relative to the mental health of the veterinarian. This research comprised two projects. First, a survey of veterinarians in Canada to explore the prevalence of perceived stress, anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction, and resilience, as well as to explore associated personal, lifestyle, and career characteristics. Second, an in-clinic study of veterinarians and veterinary clients to explore the relationship between the same veterinarian mental health measures and three appointment outcomes: client satisfaction and veterinarian and client perceptions of patient-centeredness (VPCC and CPCC, respectively).Relative to the general population, survey participants (n=1403) had higher levels of negative mental health states, and lower resilience; female veterinarians fared poorer than males. Univariable modelling indicated that resilience was positively associated with other positive mental health states, and negatively associated with negative mental states. Among veterinarians in clinical practice (n=1130), a multivariable model predicted positive associations between resilience and overall health, a participant’s satisfaction with support from friends, relationship/partner, and workplace resources. Negative associations with resilience included participant-reported presence of mental illness, being married, in small animal practice, or being in an associate role. Sixty veterinarians participated in the second study. Several associations between veterinarian mental health scores and client satisfaction scores (n=995) were significant, non-linear, and complex. In some models, higher client satisfaction was unexpectedly associated with poor veterinarian mental health, while lower client satisfaction was associated with apparent mental wellness. In multilevel, multivariable models, both VPCC and CPCC (n=977) were positively associated veterinarian compassion satisfaction. However, veterinarian burnout was negatively associated with VPCC, while veterinarian emotional exhaustion (an aspect of burnout) was positively associated with CPCC. These findings suggest that many veterinarians in Canada are experiencing poor mental health, which in turn may impact client outcomes. Cultivating veterinarian resilience represents a promising area for well-being intervention.Zoetis CanadaOntario Veterinary College Pet TrustRoyal Cani
Using a dog demography field study to inform the development of an agent-based computer simulation. Evaluating owned dog population control interventions in a small, semi-urban community in Mexico
No full textThis thesis evaluates the potential effects of different dog population control interventions in a small, semi-urban community in Mexico. First, a cross-sectional study was conducted to characterize dog ecology and demography in Villa de Tezontepec, Hidalgo. Approximately 65% of the households owned one or more dogs. The majority of owned dogs (76%) were not sterilized, and less than half (45%) were kept confined. Second, a stochastic, agent-based simulation model was constructed to determine the projected impact of surgical sterilization interventions and increased dog confinement on the owned dog population size for this community. The model outputs suggested that surgical sterilization interventions focused only on young dogs (prior to sexual maturity) could yield greater reductions in population size than surgical interventions focused on dogs of mixed age. The information generated in this thesis can help to identify considerations for the design and implementation of dog population control programs in developing countries.MitacsCanada Research ChairsHealth Services of the State of Hidalg
Investigation of the Working Relationships of Ontario Veterinarians and their Small Ruminant Clients with a Focus on Provision of Postmortem Services
No full textThere is a lack of morbidity and mortality information pertaining to adult small ruminants in Canada. The Small Ruminant Adult Mortality (SRAM) system provided support to veterinarians performing on-farm postmortems of adult small ruminants, to enhance disease surveillance and improve provision of health management advice. A novel animal health surveillance evaluation framework was developed and used to evaluate the SRAM system. The evaluation indicated that the SRAM system has great value for improving diagnosis of on-farm postmortems and for building veterinarian-producer relationships. Veterinarian and producer perceptions of health management and their working relationships were also explored, with the aim of improving use of veterinary services, including animal health surveillance-based services. Results indicated there were several barriers that prevented producers from using veterinary services. Future work should focus on developing interventions to reduce these barriers, to support the improvement of animal health surveillance and growth of the Canadian small ruminant industries.Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural AffairsOntario Animal Health NetworkUniversity of GuelphOntario Graduate Scholarshi
Coxiella burnetii seropositivity and associated risk factors in sheep, goats, their farm workers and veterinarians in Ontario, Canada
Get PDFThis thesis was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence and risk factors for Coxiella burnetii exposure in meat and dairy sheep and goats, their farm workers, and small ruminant veterinarians and veterinary students in Ontario. Four cross-sectional studies involving serological testing and questionnaire administration were conducted. Sera from reproductively active ewes and does were tested for C. burnetii specific antibodies using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (IDEXX); human sera were tested using an Immuno-Fluorescence Assay (Focus Diagnostics). Seropositivity was common among all groups. The individual-level seroprevalence was 14.7% (95% CI=13.3-16.2) in sheep, 32.5% (95%CI=30.6-34.5) in goats, 64.5% (95%CI=57.2-71.4) in farm workers, and 59.4% (95%CI=41.9-75.2) in veterinarians/veterinary students. Overall, 48.6% (95%CI=37.2-60.1) of sheep farms and 63.2% (95%CI=51.9-73.4) of goat farms had at least one seropositive animal, while 76.3% (95%CI=65.8-84.6) of farms that participated in human testing had at least one seropositive farm worker. Mixed logistic multivariable models of individual seropositivity, and controlling for clustering by farm, were constructed for sheep, goats and farm workers. The sheep and goat models highlighted the importance of farm hygiene and biosecurity measures. Female flock size (log10 scale), lambing/kidding in a separate airspace, and failure to disinfect lambing/kidding pens were positively associated with seropositivity in both the sheep and goat models. For goats, male herd size (log10 scale), and kidding outdoors in the absence of swine on farm were negatively associated with seropositivity; the presence of other sheep/goat farms within 5km was positively associated with seropositivity. For sheep, loaning sheep was positively associated with seropositivity. Workers on dairy goat farms had higher odds of seropositivity, compared to working on meat goat or dairy sheep farms. Increasing proportions of seropositive sheep/goats on farm was also positively associated with farm worker seropositivity. Veterinary students had significantly lower odds of seropositivity than practicing veterinarians in univariable exact logistic regression.Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural AffairsOntario Ministry of Health and Long-Term CareNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaPublic Health OntarioOntario Sheep Marketing Agenc
Evaluating Strategies for Controlling Anthelmintic-Resistant Haemonchus contortus in Ontario Sheep Flocks
No full textWidespread anthelmintic resistance has been documented primarily in Haemonchus sp. on sheep farms in Ontario, Canada. Access to an effective anthelmintic is therefore essential to both ensure animal welfare and reduce economic losses. There is, however, also a need to balance parasite control with management practices that help mitigate the selection of anthelmintic-resistant parasites. The primary objectives of this research were to: a) evaluate the efficacy of closantel, a novel anthelmintic to Canada, using fecal egg count reduction tests in periparturient ewes and grazing lambs on six sheep farms in Ontario; b) evaluate the ability of four targeted selective treatment (TST) indicators to predict Haemonchus-specific fecal egg counts (FEC) in recently lambed ewes; and c) evaluate whether TST was as effective in controlling Haemonchus sp. as whole-flock treatment (WT) using both a pilot longitudinal field study as well as a mathematical model developed for Ontario conditions. Closantel was found to be highly effective against anthelmintic-resistant Haemonchus sp. over two grazing seasons in both periparturient ewes and grazing lambs. Of the four TST indicators evaluated, FAMACHA© score was best able to predict Haemonchus-specific FEC. Further sensitivity and specificity analyses of FAMACHA© score were investigated using a receiver-operator characteristic curve; if FAMACHA© score was to be used as the sole indicator, ewes with FAMACHA© scores of 3-5 should be treated. Over the grazing season, Haemonchus larval pasture burdens and Haemonchus-specific FEC in both ewes and lambs were higher on TST farms compared with WT farms. However, there was no significant difference in the number of additional anthelmintic treatments given by producers nor was there a significant difference in number of parasite deaths between TST and WT farms. Model simulations determined that TST of ewes with FAMACHA© scores of 3-5 closely approximated Haemonchus sp. FECs of WT farms, thus indicating that TST can be used to help delay the development of anthelmintic resistance. Results from the closantel efficacy study have been used for the approval of closantel in Canada and the information from this thesis will be used to aid producers in using effective management practices to decrease the selection of anthelmintic-resistant parasites.Elanco Animal HealthOntario Sheep Marketing AgencyOntario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural AffairsNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canad
Gastro-intestinal nematodes in Ontario sheep flocks - An epidemiological study of over-wintering and anthelmintic resistance
Get PDFThis thesis was conducted to evaluate important epidemiological features of Gastro-Intestinal Nematode (GIN) infections in Ontario sheep flocks; namely, the PeriParturient Egg Rise (PPER), overwintering of GIN free-living stages on pasture, and Anthelmintic Resistance (AR). Three main studies were carried out: a longitudinal study was conducted on six sheep farms to evaluate the PPER in ewes lambing in different seasons and to determine whether total plasma protein (TPP) levels and packed cell volume (PCV) were associated with increased fecal GIN-egg shedding. Secondly, a pilot-study was conducted on three farms to describe pasture-level environmental conditions and over-wintering survival and infectivity of free-living GIN larvae, especially Haemonchus contortus. Lastly, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 47 sheep farms in Ontario, to evaluate the frequency of AR, compare different diagnostic tests for AR, and evaluate management practices associated with AR. In the longitudinal study, the PPER was observed in winter, spring and autumn lambing ewes, though the magnitude and distribution of the PPER varied with season. Lower TPP and PCV values were associated with increased fecal GIN-egg counts. The pilot-study suggested that H. contortus larvae did not overwinter successfully on pasture, while other GINs, such as Teladorsagia sp., Trichostrongylus spp. and Nematodirus spp., were able to overwinter on pasture, and were infective the following spring. Resistance to ivermectin, fenbendazole and levamisole was demonstrated on 97% (28/29), 95% (19/20) and 6% (1/17) respectively of the farms tested; most of the resistance observed was found in Haemonchus sp. The Fecal Egg Count Reduction percentage following treatment was influenced by which mean (i.e. arithmetic vs. geometric) was used in the formula; use of pre-treatment in addition to post-treatment faecal egg counts was not influential. Both the fecal egg count reduction test and the larval development assay diagnosed resistance, but there was poor agreement between the two tests, as indicated by the Kappa test. The prior use of benzimidazoles on farms was associated with higher levels of fenbendazole resistance. The information generated in this thesis will be used to develop a parasite control program for sheep flocks in Ontario and to guide future research on GIN parasitism.Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural AffairsOntario Sheep Marketing AgencyOntario Agriculture Centre CanadaMerialAnimal Health Strategic InitiativeUniversity of Guelp
Honey bee health and productivity in Ontario, Canada: a multifactorial epidemiological approach
Get PDFBeekeepers in Ontario, Canada experienced record-breaking winter losses in 2014, and an unexplained rise in honey bee mortality incident reports between 2012-2014. The purpose of this thesis was to improve the understanding of the beekeeping industry in Ontario, and identify disease, management, and spatial factors associated with in-season (i.e., non-winter) colony mortality. This retrospective cross-sectional study utilized data (2014) from an Ontario-wide survey of beekeepers, and spatial corn crop locations obtained from Agriculture and Agrifood Canada. Results of descriptive analyses showed that Varroa mites and queen supersedure were among the key self-reported challenges facing many responding beekeepers. Stratified results between small scale beekeepers (3 years of experience (versus ≤2 years; odds ratio (OR)=0.40; 95% CI=0.18-0.90), and those managing ≥2 yards (versus 1 yard; OR=0.37; 95% CI=0.17-0.80). Knowledge of Varroa presence significantly lowered the odds of in-season colony loss (OR=0.34; 95% CI=0.16-0.76). Additionally, colonies with queens that were 1-year old (OR=0.34; 95% CI=0.14-0.83) or ≥2 years old (OR=0.15; 95% CI=0.05-0.45) were associated with decreased odds of in-season colony loss compared to queens <1 year of age. In spatial analyses, the presence of corn (as a surrogate for neonicotinoid exposure) in the same 10 km2 quadrat of a yard was not significantly associated with in-season colony mortality. In summary, this thesis finds in-season colony loss to have significant associations with beekeeper and disease factors but does not support the role of corn exposure. This provides opportunities to actively support and improve colony health by focusing on increased beekeeper education, particularly for small-scale beekeepers, in the areas of disease management and queen health. Future research that includes surveillance of in-season loss over multiple years, for both small-scale and commercial beekeepers, would likely contribute to a better understanding of honey bee health in Ontario
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