Browsing by Author "Hall, David C."
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Item Open Access A Basic Strategy to Manage Global Health with Reference to Livestock Production in Asia(2011-10-31) Hall, David C.; Le, Quynh BaNewly emerging infectious diseases (nEIDs) have increased rapidly presenting alarming challenges to global health. We argue that for effective management of global health a basic strategy should include at least three essential tactical forms: actions of a directly focused nature, institutional coordination, and disciplinary integration in approaches to health management. Each level of action is illustrated with examples from the livestock sector in Asia. No clear example of all three tactical forms in place can be found from developing countries where food security is a significant threat although Vietnam is developing a comprehensive strategy. Finally, an ecosystem health approach to global health management is advocated; such an approach moves away from the traditional single disciplinary approach. Stronger guidance is needed to direct ecohealth research and application in the management of global health.Item Open Access Applied Economics and Policy Research in Health, Dairy, and Fishery Industries(2019-07-02) Ci, Zhaoxue; Gordon, Daniel V.; Lu, Mingshan; Hall, David C.Chapter 1: With aging populations, policymakers are encouraging people to work longer to sustain the financial stability of social security systems. However, the effect of postponing retirement on mental health remains uncertain. The US Social Security Amendments of 1983 raised the social benefit age by two months each year for those cohorts born after 1937. These amendments provide a unique opportunity to assess the causal effect of retirement age on mental health. Using data from the 1994 to 2012 waves of the US Health and Retirement Survey, this paper instrumented retirement age with the amendments to control for the biases caused by the endogeneity between retirement age and mental health. This instrumental variable estimation showed that a slight gradual rise in retirement age was beneficial to retirees’ mental health. Chapter 2: There has been increasing awareness by policymakers of the need to identify the key factors that affect dairy farmers’ management decisions. This study utilizes a theoretic model to illustrate why Canadian farmers might be hesitant about disease control under the supply management system and how peer pressure can induce farmers to improve their efforts. An experiment based on a Johne’s disease scenario was implemented among Canadian dairy farmers to test the theoretic model conclusions. Both the theoretic model and the pilot experiment suggest that without a strong external monitoring policy, optimal effort level cannot be achieved. Chapter 3: The Norwegian purse seine fishery has employed multiple rights-based regulatory instruments to limit the fishing effort. Following the management reforms, this fleet shrunk substantially while the capital investment in this fleet expanded substantially. The comprehensive efficiency change in an era of revolutions are worth exploring, yet ambiguous. This paper evaluates the production and cost efficiency changes among the Norwegian purse seiners using data on Norwegian purse seiners for the period of 1994-2013. The stochastic frontier analysis shows that the purse seiners could reduce production cost significantly by eliminating inefficiencies. Meanwhile, both technical and allocative efficiencies are improving over time. A further investigation suggests that the transferable quota policies had limited impact on efficiencies.Item Open Access The economic impact of Johne’s disease (paratuberculosis) in dairy cattle(2021-02-19) Rasmussen, Philip; Hall, David C.; Barkema, Herman W.; Beaulieu, Eugene; Mason, SteveJohne’s disease (JD), or paratuberculosis, is an infectious inflammatory disorder of the intestines primarily associated with domestic and wild ruminants including dairy cattle. The disease, caused by an infection with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) bacteria, burdens both animals and producers through reduced milk production, premature culling, and reduced salvage values among MAP-infected animals. The main objectives of this thesis were to estimate the economic impact of MAP infection and potential control practices across a comprehensive selection of dairy-producing regions within a single methodological framework. Additional objectives were to estimate the value of JD control to Canadian dairy producers and to what degree there are economic premiums associated with MAP-negative dairy replacements. Using a combination of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation methods, regression analysis, and compensating and equivalent variation analysis, the following results were generated: 1) approximately 1% of gross milk revenue, equivalent to CA$43 (US$33) per cow, is lost annually in MAP-infected dairy herds, with those losses primarily driven by reduced production and being higher in regions characterized by above-average farm-gate milk prices and production per cow; 2) vaccination was the most promising type of JD control practice modelled, with dual-effect vaccines (reducing shedding and providing protective immunity) resulting in BCRs between 1.48 and 2.13 in Canada and a break-even period of between 6.17 and 7.61 years; 3) assuming a within-herd prevalence of 10% and a 50% reduction of that prevalence over 10 years, JD control has an estimated annual value of CA$28 per cow for the average Canadian dairy producer; and 4) MAP-negative replacements are associated with an average benefit of CA$96 per purchase in major dairy-producing regions, equivalent to a premium of 13% of aggregated replacement prices.Item Open Access Investigating Perceptions of Well Water Quality in Rural Alberta(2019-07-17) Munene, Abraham; Hall, David C.; Checkley, Sylvia L.; Lockyer, Jocelyn M.; Massolo, AlessandroAdequate access to safe drinking water is important in maintaining public health. Over 400,000 rural Albertans use well water for domestic purposes. The current policy on the management of private water wells requires well owners be responsible for their own water well management and well water quality. Therefore, the decision of when to test well water, what to test for, and what treatments to use to safeguard or improve water quality, lies with well owners. The purpose of this thesis was to 1. Describe the perceptions, knowledge, and beliefs rural Albertan residents have of well water quality and whether they associate livestock farming with water well contamination. 2. Identify the barriers faced by water well owners with respect to implementing well water stewardship practices. 3. Identify factors associated with water well stewardship practices (i.e., testing and treatment). A mixed methods study was completed which included a systematic review, interviews with well owners, a questionnaire survey of well owners, and collection of well water samples to assess for microbiological indicators of drinking water contamination. Thematic analyses were used to understand factors shaping perceptions of well water quality and identify factors influencing water testing behaviour as viewed through the lens of the Health Belief Model. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were used to understand the characteristics of well owners, well use, well stewardship practices, as well as investigate associations between independent variables and well stewardship practices. Barriers to treatment included a lack of awareness of what treatments to use. Increased education and awareness may be important to increase the adoption of well stewardship practices. Several factors were found to influence perceptions of well water quality. Furthermore, well owners described issues such as low perceived susceptibility to water well contamination and logistical barriers when submitting water samples for testing.Item Open Access Lessons from the Australian Johne's disesase control policies and programs(2019-08-23) Burden, Paul Douglas; Hall, David C.; Atkins, Gordon; Smits, Judit E. G.; MacKenzie, Kenneth J.Bovine Johnes disease (BJD) impacts dairy industries globally. Australia and Canada have low cow-level prevalence with varying herd-level prevalence and recently reviewed control activities. Control strategies using vaccination are lacking, suggesting opportunities for improved efficiencies of regulatory oversight. Aims of this study include identifying characteristics of producers participating in BJD control programs and vaccination, financial benefits of participation, and comparison of control activities in Australia and Canada to inform current and future control policy. An online questionnaire captured knowledge, attitudes, and practices plus demographics from 71 Australian dairy farms. Ordinal choice variable analysis identified several influences on participation, including economic factors. Simulation modelling suggests increased profitability through participation in BJD control programs and vaccination. Financial benefits of BJD control in different countries indicates high likelihood of positive returns for long-term programs, but short-term challenges to adoption and sustainability. Canada’s BJD regulatory policies may benefit from Australian experience with BJD control.Item Open Access Options to Prevent Rabies in Cattle in Bhutan(2018-03-09) Rinchen, Sangay; Cork, S. C.; van der Meer, Frank; Hall, David C.Rabies is endemic in the southern regions of Bhutan. Frequent spillover in cattle threatens the livelihoods of marginal farmers and poses significant public health threats with a high cost to the government for outbreak response and post-exposure prophylaxis in humans. The objectives of this research were to 1) assess the risk of rabies reintroduction into the rabies low-risk zone of Bhutan, 2) describe and compare Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices about rabies among cattle owners in high and low-risk areas, and 3) assess the economic benefits of vaccinating cattle against rabies in high-risk areas. We observed that the risk of rabies reintroduction into the low-risk zone was above negligible highlighting the need to enhance risk-mitigation measures. The observation of a lack of comprehensive knowledge about rabies among survey participants underlines the need to enhance rabies education programs. Our analysis also indicated that vaccinating cattle in high-risk areas could be a beneficial option to prevent rabies in cattle.Item Open Access Variations in the profitability of dairy farms in Victoria, Australia by different levels of engagement in bovine Johne’s disease control(2020-11-13) Burden, Paul; Hall, David C.Paratuberculosis or Johne’s disease (JD) prevalence in Australia is low at the cow-level with varying herd-level prevalence. Control strategies incorporating vaccination are limited, suggesting opportunities for changes in regulatory oversight. In order to study this further, we examined the economic benefits of participation in JD control programmes in Australia with and without vaccination as well as knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) relating to JD. We used an online questionnaire to gather information describing demographics and KAP from 71 Australian dairy farms. Data from fully completed questionnaires from 32 farms in Victoria, Australia combined with cost and revenue data averaged from several years of the Dairy Farm Monitor Project were used to then simulate a larger robust dataset. These production data informed the simulation model to establish farm profitability. A partial farm budget was then developed to estimate the benefits of engaging in JD control activities. Respondents who stated they participated in JD control programmes gained an additional $43.80/cow/year net income (profit) compared to non-participants. Respondents also using a JD vaccine gained an additional $35.84/cow/year over non-users; this represents $10.56/cow/year over and above the average producer in the industry. However, we also noted that there clearly exists a barrier between farmers stated intentions to participate and actual participation in JD control activities. These significant differences in net income realized by farms using different approaches to JD control (in this case, adoption of vaccination) offer a starting point from which to explore questions of how much farmers would be willing to pay for control activities, why they are willing to pay, and the likelihood of participating. Communication of the benefits of participation needs to improve to bridge this gap between farmers stated intentions and their actions. Simulation modelling suggests increased profitability from participation in JD control programs and vaccination in Australia. The JD regulatory policies of other countries may benefit from the Australian experience with JD control.