Application of system dynamics and participatory spatial group model building in animal health: A case study of East Coast Fever interventions in Lundazi and Monze districts of Zambia

Autor: Eystein Skjerve, Karl M. Rich, Chisoni Mumba, Magda Rich
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Geographic information system
Antibodies
Protozoan
lcsh:Medicine
Disease Vectors
0403 veterinary science
0302 clinical medicine
Ticks
Animal Products
Information system
Medicine and Health Sciences
Systems thinking
Animal Husbandry
lcsh:Science
Mammals
Multidisciplinary
Unintended consequences
Eukaryota
Agriculture
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
Ruminants
Professions
Infectious Diseases
Veterinary Diseases
Vertebrates
Agricultural Workers
Beef
Research Article
Livestock
Meat
Arthropoda
Infectious Disease Control
040301 veterinary sciences
Process (engineering)
030231 tropical medicine
Zambia
Context (language use)
Crops
03 medical and health sciences
Bovines
Arachnida
Animals
Environmental planning
Nutrition
Government
Ixodes
business.industry
lcsh:R
Organisms
Biology and Life Sciences
Invertebrates
System dynamics
Diet
Theileriasis
Species Interactions
Food
Amniotes
People and Places
Geographic Information Systems
Cattle
Veterinary Science
Population Groupings
Immunization
lcsh:Q
business
Crop Science
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 12, p e0189878 (2017)
PLoS ONE
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: East Coast Fever (ECF) is the most economically important production disease among traditional beef cattle farmers in Zambia. Despite the disease control efforts by the government, donors, and farmers, ECF cases are increasing. Why does ECF oscillate over time? Can alternative approaches such as systems thinking contribute solutions to the complex ECF problem, avoid unintended consequences, and achieve sustainable results? To answer these research questions and inform the design and implementation of ECF interventions, we qualitatively investigated the influence of dynamic socio-economic, cultural, and ecological factors. We used system dynamics modelling to specify these dynamics qualitatively, and an innovative participatory framework called spatial group model building (SGMB). SGMB uses participatory geographical information system (GIS) concepts and techniques to capture the role of spatial phenomenon in the context of complex systems, allowing stakeholders to identify spatial phenomenon directly on physical maps and integrate such information in model development. Our SGMB process convened focus groups of beef value chain stakeholders in two distinct production systems. The focus groups helped to jointly construct a series of interrelated system dynamics models that described ECF in a broader systems context. Thus, a complementary objective of this study was to demonstrate the applicability of system dynamics modelling and SGMB in animal health. The SGMB process revealed policy leverage points in the beef cattle value chain that could be targeted to improve ECF control. For example, policies that develop sustainable and stable cattle markets and improve household income availability may have positive feedback effects on investment in animal health. The results obtained from a SGMB process also demonstrated that a "one-size-fits-all" approach may not be equally effective in policing ECF in different agro-ecological zones due to the complex interactions of socio-ecological context with important, and often ignored, spatial patterns.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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