Antimicrobial Stewardship Behaviour among Livestock Farmers in Bangladesh: Integrating Veterinary Trust, Risk Perception, and Social Norms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ajmsi.v5i2.8271Keywords:
Antimicrobial Stewardship, Bangladesh, Livestock Farmers, Risk Perception, Social Norms, Veterinary TrustAbstract
Misuse of antimicrobials in livestock production has been linked to treatment failure, residues of antimicrobials, loss of money, and the overall emergence of antimicrobial resistant. This paper will investigate the behavioural principles of antimicrobial stewardship in Bangladesh among livestock farmers using veterinary trust, risk perception, social norms, stewardship intention, and stewardship behaviour. There was a simulated survey data of 490 livestockers who was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The measurement model indicated good reliability of indicators, internal consistency, convergent validity and discriminant validity. The structural model accounted 49.8 percent of the variance in the intention to be an antimicrobial steward, and 58.5 percent of the variance in stewardship behaviour. Social norms, veterinary trust, and risk perception had a strong positive influence on the intention to stewardship. The direct impact on the stewardship behaviour was the most significant on the intention of stewardship. There were also significant direct impacts of veterinary trust, risk perception and social norms on behaviour. All the three relationships were partially mediated by stewardship intention. Risk perception generated the greatest overall impact on behaviour, then veterinary trust and social norms. The results imply that factors other than knowledge provision are necessary to promote responsible use of antimicrobials. It should be accompanied by effective interventions that help to build confidence in veterinary professionals, enhance the knowledge of farmers on antimicrobial resistance, and create supportive community expectations. The research offers a systematic model of behaviour to guide the future field-based research and design of stewardship programmes in livestock production.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Uttam kumar Roy, Nerupom Roy, Toymur Rahman, Md Sabit Hassan, Towfiq Ul Alam
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