Project WORMS: Horse owner/keep Information

What is this study about?

Horses can be affected by a number of different worms in their intestines, some of which can cause serious disease. Controlling these worms is therefore important to keep our horses healthy. However, over the last few years there has been growing recognition that some of the worms are becoming resistant to some of the deworming drugs (“wormers” or “anthelmintics”) that we use to control them – this problem is termed “anthelmintic resistance”.

The purpose of this survey is to gather information about what methods people currently use to control worms in horses they are responsible for. This information is important to be able to develop and promote new and alternative ways of controlling worms that do not add to the problem of anthelmintic resistance

What does the study involve?

We are asking horse owners/keepers to complete a short on-line questionnaire about how they currently control worms in horses they own, share or loan. The questionnaire is designed to obtain information from the owner/keeper about one horse, if someone owns multiple horses, we will ask you to complete it for the horse whose name comes first alphabetically.  The survey is totally anonymous and being run by a number of different equine veterinary practices across the country.

What are we trying to find out in this survey?

The information that we collect will be extremely useful to us in making recommendations about the best and safest way to prevent serious worm infestations of your horses, whilst trying to minimise the further development of resistance to wormers. The results may be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, horse magazines and online forums. We will post a summary of the results of the survey on the participating vets’ websites when we have gathered all of the responses.

 Has this study been ethically approved?

The study has received approval by the RCVS Ethical Review Panel on 20^th October 2021.

How do I consent to giving data to this project?

By completing one of the questionnaires, you are giving us consent to use your responses. The surveys are totally anonymous.  It is not possible to withdraw your responses once they have been submitted.

What will happen to the responses from the questionnaires?

All the data provided in the questionnaires will be stored securely in password protected files by the study organisers. The data will be used only for the purposes of this project. Data will only ever be reported in a collated, anonymised fashion and no individual responses will be identifiable. All data will be permanently deleted within 5 years of collation (or before if published).

The responses to our questionnaires are anonymous unless you choose to disclose personal information. At the end of the survey if you wish your name to be put in a prize draw you will be directed to another page to provide this information (name and contact email address). Any personal information you provide will be kept separately from your responses and will be permanently deleted within 6 months (or before if the project is closed sooner) of you supplying the information.

How do I withdraw from the study?

You can stop the questionnaire whilst you are completing it at any time. As the data provided is anonymous, once you have submitted your responses on each page, we have no way of identifying them and removing them from the analysis.

What about the prize draw?

At the end of the survey, if you wish to be entered a prize draw to win £100 Love to Shop vouchers you will be directed to another survey. You will be asked to leave your contact details there. This ensures your responses to the main survey remain anonymous.

How do I find out the results of the study?

You can find out the results of the study in a number of ways:

• A summary will be presented on your vets’ website
• The findings will be submitted for publication to a peer reviewed journal

Contacts

For further information, or if you have any concerns or complaints about this process, please contact Dr Tim Mair (tim.mair@btinternet.com)