Otago University is leading the study that aims to inform the Government’s management not only M bovis but also to aid in exotic disease responses.
General practice and rural health senior research fellow Dr Fiona Doolan-Noble is leading the two-year study involving multiple community groups.
The study will look at the impact of the eradication programme on farmers directly and the wider community more generally.
“It’s taken time but we have put together a stakeholders’ panel with representatives from rural communities and we kicked off in July.
“The panel will be our connectors to that rural community.”
A governance group made up of public health specialists, farmers, health professionals and a senior veterinarian has been formed to address key challenges.
“They are there to guide us when need arises.”
Community focus groups from organisations that make up a wider community including Rural Women, Rural Support Trust, Federated Farmers, teachers, vets, business owners and health professionals are also being set up to guide the researchers.
Three focus group meetings are planned before the end of the year.
“We haven’t started interviews with farmers yet but again the research team will be guided by these community stakeholder groups.
“Because of their guidance we have already changed some of the research plan to make it more robust and directly relevant.
“Considering the impact we believe M bovis has had I think it’s quite vital as researchers that we do this study justice so we have opened this as widely as we can to get the best result possible.”
The study is being funded by a $120,000 Lotteries grant and there’s a process in place to incorporate an Otago Medical School-funded student summer project.
“This will be very exciting if we get this funding as the successful recipient will be a mature med school student and former barrister.
“This additional expertise and funding will be a huge boost to the study.”
Doolan-Noble said a wide variation of experiences taking in farm owners, managers, sharemilkers, graziers, confirmed affected property owners and high-risk properties of both past and present will be captured in the study.
“We know it’s changed a lot from the beginning we so we will be looking at past and present affected farmers and communities and looking to see whether changes have influenced the impact on farmers.”
Information will be collected from interviews, logs kept by participants and analysis of media coverage and social media.
While there is some research on the logistical and economic impacts of exotic disease outbreaks in NZ there’s no research looking at mental health and social impacts.
“For the farmers themselves, one day their herd is there and the next morning they wake up and they’ve all gone.
“That’s a huge loss on so many levels.
“It’s an emotional loss, a sensory loss and a financial loss until compensation is received and they can start building up their herd again,” Doolan-Noble said.
Others in rural communities are also affected from agricultural suppliers and small rural businesses through to community groups.
“Studies from the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak in the United Kingdom show the outbreak was not just an animal tragedy but also a human one.”
UK research identified feelings of distress and bereavement, concerns of a new disaster, loss of faith in authority and control systems and annoyance at the undermining of local knowledge.
The foot and mouth outbreak was contained in seven months but M bovis is more difficult to control and will take years to eradicate.
“The fact that it could drag on for a long time introduces another complexity.
“Farming is at the core of rural communities and when it takes a hit the whole community gets hit,” Doolan-Noble said.
