Journal of Agromedicine最新文献

{"title":"Mental Health and Coping Mechanisms Among Smallholder Farmers in Central India: A Cross-Sectional Survey.","authors":"Dewansh Kaushik, Raghavendra Bhat","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2701038","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2701038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Farmers in India encounter numerous stressors in their daily lives, which may contribute to heightened psychological distress and mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and stress. The coping strategies they employ play an important role in influencing these mental health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the relationship between coping strategies and mental health among farmers in Central India. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and March 2025 among 176 farmers from four districts of Madhya Pradesh. Participants completed a survey in the local language that included a demographic sheet, the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and the Coping Strategies Inventory-Short Form (CSI-SF). The findings showed that 23.3% of participants experienced some level of depression, 23.3% reported anxiety, and 20.5% reported stress. Significant positive correlations were observed between disengagement coping strategies and depression (r = .205, p = .006), anxiety (r = .305, p < .001), and stress (r = .200, p = .008). Regression analysis further demonstrated that disengagement coping was a significant predictor of depression, anxiety, and stress, although it explained only a small proportion of the variance in these outcomes (R² = 0.059, 0.053, and 0.049, respectively). Overall, the findings suggest that many farmers in this sample demonstrated adaptive coping patterns and low levels of severe psychological distress. However, disengagement coping behaviors were consistently associated with poorer mental health outcomes, highlighting the importance of integrating mental health promotion and adaptive coping interventions into existing agricultural and social welfare programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"732-743"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148473936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Access to Phones and Use of International Numbers Among Farmworkers in North Carolina, 2023-2024.","authors":"Abdul G Zahra, Leslie E Cofie, Catherine E LePrevost, Tania Connaughton-Espino, Natalie D Rivera, Lilibeth A Benitez, Modjulie A Moore, Mary Roby, Joseph G L Lee","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2656163","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2656163","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Communication barriers can hinder health promotion and healthcare services. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers face substantial challenges to healthcare access. We used a mixed-methods approach to assess access to phones and use of international numbers among agricultural workers, specifically migrant and seasonal farmworkers, and to explore potential implications for healthcare, emergency services, and public health outreach.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>First, we surveyed migrant and seasonal farmworkers working in North Carolina, USA, about their ability to send text messages and make phone calls at their housing, including use of international phone numbers, in 2023. A total of 1,034 farmworkers participated in the survey, which used time-venue sampling. In 2023, we also interviewed farmworkers (<i>n</i> = 19) about their technology use and digital literacy skills. In 2024, as part of a statewide community assessment, we conducted listening sessions (<i>n</i> = 19) with farmworkers (<i>n</i> = 146), community health workers (<i>n</i> = 32), and healthcare team members (<i>n</i> = 34).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among survey respondents, 19% reported being unable to consistently make phone calls at their housing, and 10% reported using a phone with a number from another country. Interviews and listening sessions revealed three themes related to farmworkers' cell phone use during the agricultural season, including use of international numbers, challenges with cell phones, and the utility of phones.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Healthcare providers, emergency services, and public health practitioners should be aware that farmworkers may face barriers to making and receiving phone calls as well as sending text messages. Healthcare systems should consider how to ensure access to care for farmworkers using phones with numbers from their country of origin. While most farmworkers have access to phones, a meaningful minority cannot consistently make a phone call to coordinate care, report an emergency, or access health promotion services.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"505-514"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147786270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dairy Worker Infection Prevention Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors.","authors":"Natalie Rejto, Julianne Meisner, Vickie Ramirez, Hannah Fenelon, Peter Rabinowitz","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2687775","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2687775","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Recent outbreaks of infectious diseases on dairy farms, with workers becoming ill, have focused attention on the potential for zoonotic disease transmission of pathogens between animals and humans in dairy production. While many dairy farms have a biosecurity plan and protocols in place to reduce the possibility of cow-cow transmission of pathogens such as foot-and-mouth disease, previous surveys have indicated that few farms have organized ongoing infection‑prevention programs to prevent the spread of infection to workers.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The purpose of the current study is to describe knowledge, attitudes, and practices surrounding infection control and prevention by job tasks among dairy workers and to assess the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on infection prevention behaviors. Study findings can inform research aimed at implementing sustainable infection control and prevention strategies on dairy farms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline survey data from an observational study of dairy workers that began in 2017, with enrollment continuing through 2022. We restricted the analysis to dairy workers who had worked on a dairy farm for at least 6 months and who spoke Spanish or English. Bilingual study staff administered the questionnaires in Spanish or English based on the participants' preferred language. The survey questions included self-reported job tasks as well as reported use of preventive measures such as hand hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE) on dairy farms. We calculated proportions of reported behaviors for different job tasks such as milking or herd health.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found that a low level of concern about getting disease from animals or giving disease to animals was associated with lower odds of handwashing after glove use. Frequency of self-reported PPE use varied by task. Proportions of self-reported measures of handwashing were 20% or higher among participants whose data collection occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to participants whose data collection occurred before COVID-19. Conclusion: Efforts to increase infection prevention and control on dairy farms need to address workers' perceptions about the risk of pathogen transmission between workers and cows, since this appears to affect both PPE use and handwashing frequency.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"695-702"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148240088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Behavioral Predictors of Safe Diving Practices Among Aquaculture Workers: An Occupational Health Perspective.","authors":"Gökay Taşkaya","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2702041","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2702041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study develops and validates a scale designed to measure safe diving culture among aquaculture divers. It also examines occupational health and safety behaviors by considering the individual, environmental, and organizational factors that influence safe diving practices.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The study followed a methodological design combining descriptive analysis and scale development. Participants were professional aquaculture divers working in fish farming facilities in Türkiye (<i>n</i> = 613). Data was collected through an online survey. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted in AMOS, and all items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>According to the EFA results, four factors accounted for 57.7% of the total variance: pre-dive planning and safety awareness, safe behavior during the dive, equipment and environmental safety, and post-dive risk management with behavioral attention. CFA supported this four-factor structure with excellent fit indices (χ²/df = 1.165; CFI = .988; TLI = .986; RMSEA = .026). Internal consistency values were high (α = .851-.877). SEM further confirmed the expected relationships among the subscales, indicating that diving safety reflects not only technical knowledge but also behavioral attitudes and organizational safety climate.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The \"Safety Behavior Scale for Aquaculture Divers\" offers a sound psychometric tool for evaluating behavioral safety culture in aquaculture diving. The scale provides a structured tool for assessing self-reported safe diving behaviors among aquaculture divers. By addressing diving behavior through multiple dimensions, the study provides a meaningful contribution to occupational health literature.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"744-754"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148425812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bridging the Knowledge Gap: Pesticide Use and Farmer Practices in Traditional and Modern Date Palm Groves in Morocco.","authors":"Eimad Dine Tariq Bouhlali, Fatima Loustani, Houria Benamar, Khalid Sellam, Adil Essarioui, Mohamed Bammou, Raja Ben Laouane","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2705928","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2705928","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study assessed and compared pesticide use practices and safety behaviors among farmers in traditional and modern date palm groves in Errachidia Province, Morocco.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A stratified cross-sectional survey targeting active pesticide users was conducted between April 2022 and April 2023. Of 278 farmers initially screened, 166 active pesticide users completed the full questionnaire: 79 from traditional oases and all 87 from modern farms.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results showed widespread reliance on chemical pesticides in both systems (91.0% and 97.7%, respectively). Educational attainment was low, with over 90% of respondents having primary education or less, and illiteracy rates of 42.3% (traditional) and 34.1% (modern). Formal pesticide training was nearly absent (0% and 5.75%). Most respondents did not read or follow pesticide labels (95.6% and 90.8%), and product selection relied mainly on peers in traditional systems (73.0%) and sellers in modern farms (73.6%). Personal protective equipment use was insufficient in both groups: gloves were used by 51.4% and 72.4%, oro-nasal masks by 42.1% and 58.0%, and immediate post-application showering was reported by only 5.7% and 7.0% of respondents, respectively. Improper container disposal was common in both systems (>60% discarding on or near farms). These findings suggest that pesticide misuse is not confined to traditional systems but also occurs in modern date palm farms, potentially through different decision-making pathways.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although modern farms showed higher rates of PPE use and more preventive treatment approaches, these differences did not correspond to comprehensively safer practices overall. The results highlight the need for system-specific, context-adapted interventions to improve pesticide safety in Moroccan oasis agriculture.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"770-779"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148537641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Growing a Safety Culture: The Mechanisms of an Industry-Led Safety Learning Network Pilot in Horticulture.","authors":"Sarah Oxford, Ashleigh Blair, Ruth Nettle","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2661749","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2661749","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Horticulture farms are high-risk, hard-to-reach workplaces where regulatory and education-based safety interventions often fail to achieve lasting impact. Challenges arise from multifaceted hazards, skepticism toward regulatory authority, and the precarious employment conditions of seasonal and culturally diverse workers. This paper reports on findings from a study of an Australian horticulture industry-led Safety Learning Network (SLN) pilot that aimed to drive sustainable safety-culture change.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Qualitative data collection from participants in the initiative involved semi-structured interviews with farm owners/managers (<i>n</i> = 10), observations (<i>n</i> = 6) and notes from farm visits (<i>n</i> = 2), governance meetings, and informal communications (<i>n</i> = 19). Thematic analysis involved the application of a socio-ecological framework to identify the mechanisms that contributed to the pilot's effectiveness and weaknesses in engaging horticulture farms and fostering safety culture change.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Participants identified three interrelated mechanisms through which the SLN supported engagement and contributed to safety culture and safety-related attitudes: building trust between the initiative leaders and farmers involved, providing practical and tailored support to farmers and their employees, and providing credible legal and industry expertise to farmers. Behavior change associated with these mechanisms included shifts in attitude and accountability among all participating farm managers and owners, and observable changes in safety behavior among workers on some farms.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Industry-led networks have the potential bridge the gap between regulation and farm-level practice and may support culture and behavior change among horticulture workers. However, evidence of effectiveness is limited and these networks typically require participatory, context-specific implementation that can be resource-intensive. Future research could incorporate independent outcome measures (e.g. injury or claims data) and longitudinal designs to assess sustainability and broader impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"541-552"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147786812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative Literature Review of Ergonomic and Safety Approaches in Agricultural Tools.","authors":"Jiyeon Ha, Myung-Chul Jung, Seung-Min Mo","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2686891","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2686891","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Agriculture is an essential yet hazardous industry with frequent injuries and a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. Despite this, the ergonomic design of agricultural tools remains insufficient, and previous studies have mainly focused on large-scale machinery rather than manual tools.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study reviews research on agricultural tools from ergonomic and safety perspectives to identify research directions and trends. Relevant records were identified using keywords related to agriculture, tools, ergonomics, and safety and screened following the PRISMA process, resulting in 96 final materials included in the review. The selected studies were categorized into three groups based on research topics, and research focuses were classified and analyzed by period, country, and target (tool or machinery).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The findings indicate persistent gaps in user-centered ergonomic design. Moreover, differences in focus between manual tool and machinery research suggest that research priorities vary depending on target.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Understanding these differences provides useful insight for establishing design strategies and setting directions for ergonomic research in agriculture. The findings also highlight the need for standardized evaluation protocols to support safe and ergonomic agricultural tool design and assessment.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"805-820"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148254259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Explainable Ensemble Machine Learning for Predicting Injury Severity in Agricultural Accidents.","authors":"Omer Mermer, Eddie Zhang, Ibrahim Demir","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2658048","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2658048","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Agricultural injuries remain a leading occupational hazard, causing substantial human and economic losses worldwide. This study aimed to predict agricultural injury severity using linear and ensemble machine learning (ML) models, while ensuring interpretability through explainable artificial intelligence (XAI).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed 2,421 agricultural incidents (2015-2024) from AgInjuryNews, categorized as fatal or non-fatal. Data were pre-processed to remove duplicates, outliers, and incomplete records, then split into training and testing sets. Multiple ML models - including Naïve Bayes, Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting - were trained and optimized using cross-validation. Ensemble approaches (bagging, boosting, stacking, and voting) were also implemented. Model performance was evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) were applied to identify key predictors of injury severity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ensemble models achieved the best overall performance, with Random Forest, XGBoost, and LightGBM outperforming linear classifiers. XGBoost achieved near-perfect recall for fatal injuries, though classification of non-fatal cases remained challenging due to class imbalance. SHAP analysis consistently identified age, gender, location, and time of incident as the most influential predictors across models. These findings highlight both the predictive power of ensemble methods and the value of XAI in understanding underlying risk factors.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Ensemble ML approaches, supported by explainable AI techniques, offer effective tools for predicting injury severity in agriculture and uncovering critical contributing factors. The results underscore the importance of addressing data imbalance for improved classification of non-fatal injuries. Insights into key demographic and environmental predictors can inform targeted safety interventions and policy development, contributing to reduced injury rates and enhanced protection for agricultural workers.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"515-529"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147786778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What Finally Makes Farmers Call: Help-Seeking Amid Compounding Stressors in Agricultural Mental Health.","authors":"Analee Monrreal, Margaret M Sugg, Sophia C Ryan, Jack Bigelow, Jennifer D Runkle","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2686373","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2686373","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Agricultural workers face elevated mental health risks, and suicide rates consistently exceed those of the general population, yet little is known about their help-seeking behaviors during crises. Understanding when and why farmers decide when to seek crisis assistance can inform earlier intervention strategies and reduce barriers to care in this high-risk occupational group.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study identifies stressors, help-seeking patterns, and barriers among callers to an agricultural mental health crisis helpline, with particular attention to how combinations of stressors prompt help-seeking and what factors predict help acceptance or refusal of services.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted directed content analysis of call narratives from AgriStress Helpline, a U.S. agricultural mental health helpline spanning February 2022 through July 2025. Using a two-phase coding approach, all narratives were categorized by call type, and 321 crisis calls underwent detailed thematic coding for stressor types (financial, weather/climate, health, family/relationship, social isolation), help-seeking outcomes (accepted, explored, refused, disconnected), and barriers mentioned. Multivariable logistic regression examined predictors and outcomes, including referral acceptance and suicide ideation, with inter-rater reliability assessed using Cohen's kappa on a 10% double-coded subset.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 911 total helpline contacts, 35.2% (<i>n</i> = 321) involved mental health crises. Among crisis callers, health concerns (60.5%), social isolation (58.6%), and family/relationship issues (56.4%) were more prevalent than financial stress (38.3%) or weather events (7.8%), challenging assumptions about primary agricultural stressors. Most crisis callers (81.1%) reported multiple concurrent stressors, with a mean of 2.5 stressors per call. Suicide ideation was mentioned in 14.0% of crisis calls, with the highest prevalence in health-related crises (20.1%). Nearly 80% of crisis callers accepted (46.4%) or explored (31.5%) help options. Social isolation was the only significant predictor of help refusal (OR_{HelpAcceptance} = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.00-0.39), while health concerns significantly predicted suicide ideation (OR = 3.41, 95% CI: 1.47-9.36).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Agricultural crisis calls typically result from multiple cascading stressors rather than isolated problems, with health and interpersonal concerns more prominent than economic factors at crisis points. Social isolation functions as both a critical stressor and a barrier to engagement, requiring specialized intervention approaches for isolated agricultural populations. Results were derived from a unique help-seeking dataset that may reflect a subset of the population; more research into agricultural help-seeking is needed to inform additional interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"652-662"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148279394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Brucellosis in the Agro-Pastoral Region of Djelfa, Algeria.","authors":"Mohamed Lounis, Imane Souadia, Chahinaze Maroua Chibout, Djihad Bencherit, Osaro Mgbere","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2689681","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2026.2689681","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonoses threatening both human and animal health worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Algeria is among the most affected countries, particularly in the Steppic region, according to recent estimates.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was conducted to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice in one of the most affected areas in this region, the department of Djelfa. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between March 22, 2024, and May 22, 2024.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results showed that of the 664 participants who consented and completed the questionnaire, 639 (96.2%) reported having heard of brucellosis mainly through an infection of a friend or family member (33.23%) or through discussion (33.02%). Among these respondents, 58.4% demonstrated a high level of knowledge (<i>p</i> < .0001), while 59.47% exhibited a positive attitude (<i>p</i> < .0001), and 51.64% of the 122 livestock owners reported good practices (<i>p</i> > .05). Notably, 77.31% of the participants reported consuming unpasteurized milk. In addition, direct or indirect experience with brucellosis increases the odds of adopting good practices (OR: 3.63, 95% CI: 1.72-7.67, <i>p</i> < .001); whereas, male sex decreases the odds (aOR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06-0.39, <i>p</i> < .0001). Age also played a significant role, with individuals aged 41-50 years (aOR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.13-5.01, <i>p</i> = .0219) and dog ownership (aOR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.02-2.72, <i>p</i> = .0403) being the only factors significantly associated with participants' knowledge and attitudes toward brucellosis, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings indicate that although awareness of the disease is high, levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices remain moderate, which could be a barrier to efficiently prevent and control brucellosis spread. This highlights the need for targeted education and interventions to improve our understanding of the disease and to address high-risk behaviors that contribute to its transmission in the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"703-717"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148302967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}