A qualitative content analysis of factors influencing British dairy farmers’ willingness to share antibiotic usage data

Centralised capture of accurate farm-level data on antibiotic usage (ABU) is needed for surveillance of antibiotic resistance. The objectives of this study were to describe the factors influencing British dairy farmers willingness to 1) submit their ABU data to a centralised medicine hub (MH) and 2) allow third-party access to such data. An inductive qualitative content analysis was undertaken on data collected in person from 94 dairy farmers in South West England and Wales. Participants answered a closed survey question on use of a centralised MH, and provided an explanation for their response. Factors affecting participants’ willingness to share ABU by using a centralised system were that they had nothing to hide, they trusted their veterinarian with their data, and perceived that it would provide useful information for farmers and veterinarians. However, participants had a fear of losing control over decision-making and therefore wanted to control access to their data. They also felt overwhelmed by data demands, but suggested that data sharing is already happening and inevitable. Participants in this study were more likely to have positive viewpoints of sharing ABU due to the self-selection process. These findings suggest that, overall, farmers in this study are happy to share their ABU data, and recognise the potential benefits it could bring for herd health. However, they also highlight challenges that need to be addressed to ensure successful implementation of a centralised data collection system.