UK flockdown: A survey of smallscale poultry keepers and their understanding of governmental guidance on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The scale of the current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) due to the A/H5N1 virus in the United Kingdom is unprecedented. In addition to its economic impact on the commercial poultry sector, the disease has devastated wild bird colonies and represents a potential public health concern on account of its zoonotic potential. Although the implementation of biosecurity measures is paramount to reducing the spread of HPAI in domestic and commercial settings, little is known about the attitudes and perspectives of backyard poultry keepers, who often keep their flocks in close proximity to the public. A large nationwide survey of backyard poultry keepers was undertaken in December 2021-March 2022, contemporaneous with the enforcement of an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) and additional housing measures in England, Scotland and Wales. The survey explored keepers' understanding of the clinical manifestations of HPAI, compliance with housing and biosecurity measures, attitudes towards obligatory culling on confirmation of HPAI in their flocks, and the potential use of vaccination to control HPAI. Summary statistical analysis of the closed question responses was supplemented with qualitative data analysis and corpus linguistic approaches to draw out key themes and salient patterns in responses to open text questions. Survey responses were received from 1559 small-scale poultry keepers across the United Kingdom. Awareness of the HPAI outbreak was very high (99.0%). The majority of respondents learned of it via social media (53%), with Defra (49.7%), British Hen Welfare Trust (33.8%) and the APHA (22.0%) identified as the principal sources of information. Analysis revealed that backyard keepers lacked knowledge of the clinical signs of avian influenza and legal requirements relating to compliance with biosecurity measures. Some respondents dismissed the seriousness of HPAI and were unwilling to comply with the measures in force. The issue of obligatory culling proved highly emotive, and some expressed a lack of trust in authorities. Most respondents (93.1%) indicated a willingness to pay for vaccination if the option was available. Communications on biosecurity measures that are relevant to large-scale industrial setups are inappropriate for backyard contexts. Understanding the barriers that backyard keepers face is essential if official agencies are to communicate biosecurity information effectively to such groups. Lack of trust in authorities is likely to make elimination of the virus in the UK difficult. We make recommendations for tailoring HPAI-related information for backyard contexts, to aid future HPAI control measures in the UK.

Exploring the responses of smallscale poultry keepers to avian influenza regulations and guidance in the United Kingdom, with recommendations for improved biosecurity messaging.

Understanding how smallscale ('backyard') poultry keepers interpret and respond to governmental directives designed to reduce the transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is of paramount importance in preparing for future HPAI outbreaks. Qualitative insights from open questions in an online survey conducted during the 2021-22 HPAI season (1,559 responses) shed light on smallscale poultry keepers' understanding of, and responses to, governmental directives to control HPAI exposure and onwards transmission. A follow-up participatory workshop (21 participants) explored the HPAI-related information sources used by smallscale poultry keepers, their trust in these sources, perceptions of HPAI-related risk, and interpretation of, opinions on and adherence to government regulations and communications regarding biosecurity and housing measures. This paper draws on a multi-scale behaviour change model to explore barriers to compliance with HPAI-related regulations. Insights from behaviour settings theory reveal how poultry-keeping settings and routines might be 'disrupted' and 're-configured' to improve long-term biosecurity and reduce the risk of HPAI exposure. The findings highlight the need for HPAI-related guidance that is tailored to smallscale poultry keepers. This guidance should include clear action points and simple, practical, affordable and sustainable suggestions for improving compliance with biosecurity measures.

The reception of public health messages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Understanding the reception of public health messages in public-facing communications is of key importance to health agencies in managing crises, pandemics, and other health threats. Established public health communications strategies including self-efficacy messaging, fear appeals, and moralising messaging were all used during the Coronavirus pandemic. We explore the reception of public health messages to understand the efficacy of these established messaging strategies in the COVID-19 context. Taking a community-focussed approach, we combine a corpus linguistic analysis with methods of wider engagement, namely, a public survey and interactions with a Public Involvement Panel to analyse this type of real-world public health discourse. Our findings indicate that effective health messaging content provides manageable instructions, which inspire public confidence that following the guidance is worthwhile. Messaging that appeals to the audience's morals or fears in order to provide a rationale for compliance can be polarising and divisive, producing a strongly negative emotional response from the public and potentially undermining social cohesion. Provenance of the messaging alongside text-external political factors also have an influence on messaging uptake. In addition, our findings highlight key differences in messaging uptake by audience age, which demonstrates the importance of tailored communications and the need to seek public feedback to test the efficacy of messaging with the relevant demographics. Our study illustrates the value of corpus linguistics to public health agencies and health communications professionals, and we share our recommendations for improving the public health messaging both in the context of the ongoing pandemic and for future novel and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks.