The development of poultry farms risk assessment tool for avian influenza in Imo State, Nigeria

This study validated the content of a questionnaire that will be used for risk stratification in poultry farms in Imo State, Nigeria. The questionnaire was developed from avian influenza risk domains peculiar to poultry farms in Nigeria. The questionnaire was verified and modified by a group of five experts with research interest in Nigeria's poultry industry and avian influenza prevention. The questionnaire was distributed to 30 poultry farms selected from Imo State, Nigeria. The same poultry farms were visited one week after they completed the questionnaires for on-site observation. Agreement between survey and observation results was analyzed using the kappa statistic and rated as poor, fair, moderate, substantial, or nearly perfect; internal consistency of the survey was also computed. The mean kappa statistic for agreement between the survey and observations (validation) ranged from 0.06 to 1, poor to nearly perfect agreement. Eight questions showed poor agreement, four had a fair agreement, two items had moderate agreement, nineteen survey questions had substantial agreement and ten questions had nearly perfect agreement. Out of the 43 items in the questionnaire, 32 items were considered validated with coefficient alpha >0.70.