Jaap Sok (Business Economics, WUR) Farmers’ heterogeneous motives, voluntary vaccination and disease spread: an agent-based model

Animal health authorities responsible for effective voluntary livestock disease control need to consider the dynamic interplay between farmers’ collective behaviour and disease epidemiology. We developed an agent-based model to simulate vaccination scheme designs that differ in expected adverse vaccine effects, communication strategies, and subsidy levels. Specific schemes improve the vaccine uptake by farmers at the start of a livestock disease epidemic, compared to a base scheme in which there is minimal communication and subsidy. Results suggest that motivational mechanisms activated by a well-designed risk communication strategy are equally or more effective in increasing vaccination uptake than providing more financial compensation.