How can we change behavior to bolster biosecurity? A scoping review and recommendations

Farmers' perceptions and the associated facilitators and barriers relevant to performing biosecurity and animal health measures have been well studied. Few studies, however, have evaluated interventions aiming at promoting the adoption of biosecurity measures. This scoping review was conducted to identify and evaluate such studies. Interventions were mapped to potentially useful frameworks, with the aim of informing the implementation of future biosecurity interventions. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, structured literature searches supplemented by reference list screening were conducted. Studies were included if their objective was to evaluate interventions aimed at increasing biosecurity at the farm level to protect livestock from infectious disease challenges. Screening, data extraction, mapping, and conflict resolution were conducted by the first author and at least one co-author. Extracted data on intervention design included context, target participants, desired outcomes, program components, evaluation methods, and theoretical frameworks. Interventions were mapped to behavior change wheel categories, including policies, interventions, and sources of behavior according to the COM-B framework. Of 699 records retrieved, 445 were unique. Of these, 263 underwent full-text screening, and 33 met the inclusion criteria and represented 41 distinct studies conducted or published between 2008 and 2024. Eighteen studies were conducted in the United States or the United Kingdom (12 and 6, respectively), and 25 did not reference a specific disease. Major agricultural species (poultry, swine, cattle, and sheep) were represented, with most studies conducted in commercial production systems (n = 25) rather than smallholder or backyard settings (n = 8). Outcome indicators most commonly measured behavior (n = 31), knowledge (n = 15), or attitudes (n = 6). Key intervention components were trainings (n = 12), surveys (n = 7), action plans (n = 7), and audits (n = 7). Only five studies reported controlled study designs, and fewer than half referenced a theoretical framework. Intervention components most frequently aligned with the behavior change wheel intervention function categories of education, persuasion, enablement, and environmental restructuring. A new function of questioning/observing was proposed. As we characterized these studies of interventions to motivate the adoption of biosecurity measures, we recognized the importance of clearly reporting what was done and why. The application of tools such as intervention mapping and the integration of behavior change frameworks or models in biosecurity implementation studies can help strengthen the evidence base for future biosecurity initiatives.