Hi, my name is Lucy GreatRex and I am currently in second year of Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool! My summer research project was titled “Exploring Vaccine Uptake in UK Veterinary-Attended Horses Using Electronic Health Records” and I was lucky enough to be sponsored with the Acorn award for this project.

My project was designed to highlight the effectiveness of the Equine Veterinary Surveillance Network (EVSNET) in monitoring vaccination coverage and identifying adverse events during 2023 and 2024. We also assessed vaccination uptake based on socioeconomic status using horse signalment characteristics and Index of multiple deprivation (IMD).

We concluded that 2024 data had higher IMD scores, associating with higher levels ofdeprivation when compared to 2023 however, not a full year was accounted for in2023 which could alter results. Adverse events were likely to be under reported and they do not specifyon what type of reaction had occurred and therefore, it is essential that recording of reactionsand the type of reaction is improved to allow for better analysis andunderstanding. Overall, ourfindings did highlight the effectiveness of EVSNET and its role in enhancingour understanding of vaccination uptake among UK-attended horses.

The progress achieved in this project was made possiblethrough the invaluable funding and support received from the acorn award andthe AVTRW team. I had an amazing experience talking at my first conference dueto AVTRW and how they made such a comfortable environment that allowed me tospeak with such ease and confidence. Listening to all the other student andprofessional talks was an enlightening experience which has opened my mindfurther to a career within the research sector.