Behavioural drivers of on-farm biosecurity implementation in livestock: A literature overview with insights for research

Global livestock intensification heightens disease risks, making effective biosecurity crucial. However, the inconsistent adoption of biosecurity measures and the behavioural drivers behind this variability are not fully understood. This review assessed the current state of knowledge and identified evidence gaps regarding drivers influencing stakeholders’ decision-making and the implementation of biosecurity practices, to clarify why well-established measures are not consistently applied and to guide research addressing the factors shaping biosecurity implementation.
Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search up to October 2023 was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Using a literature overview methodology, we retrieved relevant review articles on biosecurity decision-making (first phase), from which we identified relevant original research cited within them (second phase). Thematic analysis used the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) model, with the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) guiding the coding procedure.
Of 811 reviews initially retrieved, 37 were included. From these, 205 original research articles were identified, of which 78 were included. Most original studies originated from Europe and Central Asia (n=38), highlighting geographical biases. Research mainly targeted farmers (n=78), with few studies targeting veterinarians (n=6). While 45 articles addressed all three COM-B components, beyond half (n=46) reported four or fewer TDF domains, suggesting important knowledge gaps in the literature.
Future studies should target understudied regions, TDF domains (e.g. Skills, Goals and Reinforcement) and stakeholders (e.g. farmers) to effectively implement biosecurity measures. This will help the livestock sector adopt evidence-based biosecurity and adhering to it, improving animal health and resilience worldwide.