Exploratory Survey on European Consumer and Stakeholder Attitudes towards Alternatives for Surgical Castration of Piglets

Simple SummaryIn many countries, surgical castration of piglets without pain relief or anaesthesia is still common practice. Castration is performed to minimise the incidence of boar taint, a bad taste (urine/fecal like), typically present in the meat of 5 to 10% of uncastrated male pigs. It also helps to avoid aggressive and sexual behaviour. For animal welfare reasons, alternatives are being considered, and in some countries, an alternative is already practiced. One option is to perform surgical castration with anaesthesia and relieve pain. A second option is to produce male pigs without castration, which requires detection of tainted carcasses in the slaughter house. A third option is to apply immunocastration: by a two-fold injection of a vaccine, the testes function is inhibited, which reduces boar-like behaviour and avoids boar taint. In this study, we evaluated the acceptability of each of these methods in 16 countries in Europe. Of the 4 presented options, the practice of surgical castration was least accepted (32%), whilst there was a high acceptance of castration with anaesthesia (85%), followed by immunocastration (71%) and production of boars (49%). The developed questionnaire and infographic can be used in future studies to further gain insights in consumer and stakeholder attitudes on this topic.Surgical castration of piglets without pain relief is still common practice in many countries. Possible alternatives for surgical castration are application of pain relief or anaesthesia or production of boars (entire males) and immunocastrates. Each of these alternatives faces advantages and disadvantages which may result in different citizen attitudes and consumers acceptability. Understanding which practice is acceptable to whom and why may further stimulate implementation. Consumer (n = 3251) and stakeholder (n = 1027) attitudes towards surgical castration without pain relief, surgical castration with anaesthesia, immunocastration, and production of boars were surveyed from April to June 2020 via an online questionnaire in 16 countries (>175 respondents per country). Surgical castration without pain relief was separated from each of the alternatives due to animal welfare and showed the lowest acceptability (32%). Within the alternatives, a further partitioning between the alternatives was based on perceived quality and food safety, with an acceptance of 85% for applying anaesthesia, 71% for immunocastration, and 49% for boar production. Differences depending on professional involvement and familiarity with agriculture could be observed, mainly for the acceptance of surgical castration without anaesthesia, immunocastration, and boars. Castration with anaesthesia was highly accepted by all types of respondents

Evaluation of a tailored implementation strategy to improve the management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary care: a study protocol of a cluster randomized trial

Contains fulltext : 137962.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a major health problem, strongly related to smoking. Despite the publication of practice guidelines on prevention and treatment, not all patients with the disease receive the recommended healthcare, particularly with regard to smoking cessation advice where applicable. We have developed a tailored implementation strategy for enhancing general practitioners' adherence to the disease management guidelines. The primary aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of this tailored implementation intervention on general practitioners' adherence to guidelines. METHODS/DESIGN: A pragmatic two-arm cluster randomized trial has been planned to compare care following the implementation of tailored interventions of four recommendations in COPD patients against usual care. The study will involve 18 general practices (9 in the intervention group and 9 in the control group) in Poland, each with at least 80 identified (at the baseline) patients with diagnosed COPD. The nine control practices will provide usual care without any interventions. Tailored interventions to implement four recommendations will be delivered in the remaining nine practices. At follow-up after nine months, data will be collected for all 18 general practices. The primary outcome measure is physicians' adherence to all four recommendations: brief anti-smoking advice, dyspnea assessment, care checklist utilization and demonstration to patients of correct inhaler use. This measurement will be based on data extracted from identified patients' records. Additionally, we will survey and interview patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease about the process of care. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial will be directly applicable to primary care in Poland and add to the growing body of evidence on interventions to improve chronic illness care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial has been registered with Clinical Trials Protocol Registration System. Trial number: NCT01893476

Food related hazards as perceived by the food consumers

Celem pracy było określenie stanu wiadomości polskich konsumentów o istniejących i potencjalnych zagrożeniach związanych z żywnością. W okresie 4–11 grudnia 2003 r. na ogólnopolskiej reprezentatywnej 1000-osobowej próbie dorosłych konsumentów zostało zrealizowane badanie ankietowe nt. „Poziom świadomości konsumentów w zakresie zagrożeń związanych z żywnością”. Na podstawie analizy wyników można stwierdzić, że polscy konsumenci dostrzegają występowanie pewnych zagrożeń w produkcji i dystrybucji żywności, związanych zwłaszcza ze stosowaniem w żywieniu zwierząt pasz zawierających mączkę kostną oraz stosowaniem chemicznych środków ochrony roślin. Stosunkowo wysoki był też poziom świadomości występujących zagrożeń w związku ze stosowaniem antybiotyków oraz substancji dodatkowych do żywności. Tak postrzegane zagrożenia znalazły również potwierdzenie w wyrażanych przez respondentów opiniach nt. odczuwanego ryzyka podczas spożywania żywności, związanego m.in. z obecnością substancji dodatkowych i pozostałością chemicznych środków ochrony roślin. Natomiast w niewielkim stopniu obawiali się respondenci ataków bioterrorystycznych w odniesieniu do żywności. Podkreślić należy, że zarówno poziom wykształcenia oraz wiek respondentów były zmiennymi istotnie wpływającymi na postrzeganie zagrożeń związanych z żywnością. Stan wiadomości konsumentów nt. zagrożeń związanych z żywnością należy ocenić jako niski, stąd postuluje się podjęcie działań edukacyjnych w tym zakresie.The main objective of this paper was to determine the state of awareness of existing and potential food related hazards among the Polish consumers. In a period from the 4th to 11th of December 2003, a representative sample of 1000 Polish adult consumers was surveyed. In the survey, a questionnaire „The level of the consumers’ awareness of food related hazards” was applied. The analysis of selected data indicates that Polish adult consumers do see specific hazards involved in the production and distribution of food; in particular, they believe that the highest risk is connected with adding osseous meal supplementation to animal diet and with applying chemical agents to protect plants. The respondents surveyed were relatively well aware of risks resulting both from the antibiotics administered to animals during their medical treatment, and from other additives used to supplement food. Furthermore, the consumers’ awareness of those main risks as described above was confirmed by their opinions: the consumers expressed they felt risk when consuming food, and it was attributed to the fact that they were aware additives and residues of plant protection chemicals were usually present in foods consumed. On the other hand, the consumers surveyed were not much worried about bioterrorism with regard to food. It should be emphasized that both the level of education and the age of respondents were the variables, which significantly influenced the way the respondents perceived all the hazards involved in food they consumed

Differentiation criteria of consumer behaviour towards food products exemplified by meat

Konsumenci zachowują się w sposób zróżnicowany wobec poszczególnych produktów spożywczych. Żywność stanowi bowiem środek do zaspokajania nie tylko potrzeb podstawowych, ale również wtórnych, warunkowanych m.in. uznawanymi wartościami i stylem życia. W celu określenia kryteriów zróżnicowania zachowań konsumentów wobec produktów żywnościowych, na przykładzie mięsa i przetworów mięsnych, przeprowadzono badanie wśród 1000 mieszkańców Polski w wieku od 15 lat, o zróżnicowanej charakterystyce socjodemograficznej. Badanie wykonano z użyciem zmodyfikowanego kwestionariusza wyboru żywności (FCQ - Food Choice Questionnaire), zawierającego zestaw stwierdzeń odzwierciedlających możliwe motywy wyboru żywności. Po przeprowadzeniu statystycznej analizy wyników stwierdzono, że udzielone w ramach kwestionariusza FCQ odpowiedzi polskich konsumentów nie pozwalają wyodrębnić istotnie zróżnicowanych skupień konsumentów, dowodząc tym samym, że w polskich realiach narzędzie to w zastosowanej wersji nie pozwala wyodrębnić dostatecznie zróżnicowanych segmentów konsumentów w odniesieniu do mięsa i przetworów mięsnych. Wykazano natomiast, że kryterium różnicującym postawy polskich konsumentów wobec mięsa i produktów mięsnych jest deklarowana przez nich częstość spożycia wybranych gatunków mięsa i jego przetworów. Wyodrębnione na tej podstawie skupienia konsumentów poddano socjodemograficznej charakterystyce. Wykazano związki między poziomem i strukturą spożycia mięsa a płcią, wiekiem, wykształceniem, dochodami i miejscem zamieszkania konsumentów, jak również poziomem innowacyjności konsumentów oraz ich skłonnością do płacenia wyższej ceny za mięso i produkty mięsne wysokiej jakości. Relatywnie największe nasilenie postaw innowacyjnych stwierdzono wśród skupień konsumentów deklarujących ogólnie rzadkie spożycie mięsa, parówek, kiełbas oraz średnie – wędlin luksusowych.Consumer behaviour towards individual food products varies. Food constitutes a means of meeting not only fundamental needs, but, also, secondary needs determined by, among other things, commonly accepted values and lifestyle. In order to set down the differentiation criteria of consumer behaviour towards food products, exemplified by meat and meat products, a survey research was carried out among 1,000 Polish residents aged 15 and more, who showed diverse socio-demographic characteristics. The survey research was performed using a modified Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) comprising a set of statements, which reflected possible food selection motivations. Based on the statistical analysis of the results obtained, it was found that the responses given by the Polish consumers in FCQs did not make it possible to make out significantly differentiated clusters of consumers, and, at the same time, this fact provided evidence that, under the present reality of Poland, it was impossible to identify satisfactorily differentiated segments of consumers as regards meat and meat products. However, it was confirmed that the consumption frequency of selected types of meat and meat products as declared by the respondents was a criterion to differentiate the attitudes of Polish consumers towards meat and meat products. Identified on this basis consumer clusters were socio-demographically characterized. It was proved that the level and structure of meat consumption correlated with the gender, age, education level, income, and place of residence of the consumers surveyed, as well as with their level of innovativeness and their willingness to pay higher prices for high quality meat and meat products. The relatively highest intensification of innovative attitudes was found within the clusters of consumers who declared to usually rarely eat meat, Vienna sausages, and other sausages, and to eat luxury processed meat products moderately often

Acceptance level referring to changes in market of animal-originating food products according to consumer opinion

Konsumenci w Polsce przejawiają niski poziom innowacyjności wyboru żywności, kupując produkty żywnościowe znane i spełniające zróżnicowane indywidualne oczekiwania. Tym samym można domniemywać, że poziom akceptacji innowacyjnych produktów żywnościowych wśród konsumentów jest niski. Celem potwierdzenia tego przypuszczenia przeprowadzono badania terenowe w ramach projektu: ”BIOŻYWNOŚĆ – innowacyjne, funkcjonalne produkty pochodzenia zwierzęcego”. Badania o charakterze ilościowym, typu omnibus, przeprowadzono w czerwcu 2011 roku na 1000-osobowej ogólnopolskiej próbie badawczej. Na podstawie uzyskanych wyników stwierdzono, że polscy konsumenci zauważają zmiany na rynku żywności w Polsce, w ostatnich latach, jakkolwiek nie wszystkie spośród nich oceniają korzystnie, a tym samym akceptują je w zróżnicowanym stopniu. W odniesieniu do żywności pochodzenia zwierzęcego badani konsumenci w najwyższym stopniu akceptowali zmiany polegające na zmniejszeniu zawartości niektórych składników np. soli czy cukru, natomiast najniższy stopień akceptacji deklarowano wobec wzbogacania mleka i jego przetworów witaminami i składnikami mineralnymi. Wyniki badań potwierdziły też, że wyższy poziom akceptacji większości zmian w żywności pochodzenia zwierzęcego deklarowali konsumenci młodsi, o wyższych dochodach, legitymujący się wyższym wykształcenia oraz pochodzący z większych miast.Polish consumers evince a low level of innovativeness as regards their food product choices since they purchase food products they know and which meet the diverse individual expectations. Thus, it may be presumed that the acceptance of innovative food products among consumers is also at a low level. In order to confirm this supposition, a field research study was conducted under the: “BIOFOOD – innovative, functional products of animal origin” Project. The quantitative omnibus-type survey was performed in June 2011 and comprised a survey sample of 1000 respondents representing the whole country (Poland). Based on the results obtained, it was confirmed that the Polish consumers recognized changes in the food market in Poland in recent years; however, they did not considered all of those changes to be beneficial, thus, the degree of their acceptance thereof varied. As regards food products of animal original, at the highest level of acceptance the consumers polled rated the changes involving the reduction in the content of some ingredients such as salt or sugar, whereas the consumers’ lowest level of acceptance referred to milk and milk products enriched with vitamins and minerals. The survey results also confirmed that the younger consumers with university degrees and higher incomes, as well as those from larger cities declared a higher acceptance level of the majority of changes in the animal-originating food products

Public Beliefs on Antibiotics and Symptoms of Respiratory Tract Infections among Rural and Urban Population in Poland: A Questionnaire Study

Introduction: General public views and expectations around the use of antibiotics can influence general practitioners' antibiotic prescribing decisions. We set out to describe the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about the use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections in adults in Poland, and explore differences according to where people live in an urban-rural continuum. Material and Methods: Face to face survey among a stratified random sample of adults from the general population. Results: 1,210 adults completed the questionnaire (87% response rate); 44.3% were rural; 57.9% were women. 49.4% of rural respondents and 44.4% of urban respondents had used an antibiotic in the last 2 years. Rural participants were less likely to agree with the statement "usually I know when I need an antibiotic,'' (53.5% vs. 61.3% respectively; p = 0.015) and reported that they would consult with a physician for a cough with yellow/green phlegm (69.2% vs. 74.9% respectively; p = 0.004), and were more likely to state that they would leave the decision about antibiotic prescribing to their doctor (87.5% vs. 85.6% respectively; p = 0.026). However, rural participants were more likely to believe that antibiotics accelerate recovery from sore throat (45.7% vs. 37.1% respectively; p = 0.017). Use of antibiotic in the last 2 years, level of education, number of children and awareness of the problem of developing antimicrobial resistance predicted accurate knowledge about antibiotic effectiveness. Conclusions: There were no major differences in beliefs about antibiotics between urban and rural responders, although rural responders were slightly less confident in their knowledge about antibiotics and self-reported greater use of antibiotics. Despite differences in the level of education between rural and urban responders, there were no significant differences in their knowledge about antibiotic effectiveness

Innovative consumer of food of animal origin

Innowacyjność produktowa jest istotnym czynnikiem konkurencyjności, pod warunkiem poprzedzenia wdrożeń szczegółowymi pracami badawczymi dotyczącymi potrzeb i oczekiwań konsumentów. Ze względu na upowszechnianie nowości szczególnie interesujący są innowatorzy, którzy jako pierwsi sięgają po nowe produkty. Poznanie ich charakterystyki oraz specyfiki zachowań rynkowych znacznie ułatwia komercjalizację nowych produktów. W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań ankietowych dotyczących postaw i zachowań konsumentów wobec innowacyjnych produktów pochodzenia zwierzęcego. Badania przeprowadzono w grudniu 2011 roku na reprezentatywnej ogólnopolskiej próbie 1000 respondentów w wieku 15 i więcej lat, koncentrując się na rozpoznaniu i charakterystyce socjodemograficznego portretu innowatora. Stwierdzono większą innowacyjność konsumentów w stosunku do produktów mlecznych niż w odniesieniu do produktów mięsnych i jaj. Wykazano, że poziom innowacyjności w największym stopniu determinuje taka cecha, jak miejsce zamieszkania. Równocześnie innowatorzy przejawiali większą skłonność do zapłaty wyższej ceny za innowacyjne produkty pochodzenia zwierzęcego.Product innovation is an important factor of competitiveness provided its market implementation is preceded by detailed research studies on consumer needs and expectations. Considering the popularization of novelties, those innovators are particularly interesting, who are the first to buy new products. Understanding their profile and specificity of their market behaviour considerably facilitates the commercialization of new products. In the paper, the survey results are presented of consumer attitudes and behaviours towards innovative products of animal origin. The survey was carried out in December 2011 on a representative sample of 1000 respondents aged 15 and more from Poland; it was focused on the identification and description of social and demographic profile of innovators. It was found that the innovativeness of consumers as regards dairy products was higher than towards meat products and eggs. It was proved that the level of innovativeness was mainly determined by such features as place and place of residence. At the same time, the innovators polled showed to feel more disposed to pay a higher price for innovative products of animal origin