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Barriers and opportunities for improving dog bite prevention and dog management practices in northern Indigenous communities

Globally, people living in northern Indigenous communities are at higher risk of dog bites than the rest of the population living in North America, with annual incidence ranging from 0.61 to 59.6/10,000 inhabitants. Considering that rabies is endemic in wild canid populations in certain regions of t...

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Autores principales: Daigle, Laurence, Ravel, André, Lévesque, Francis, Mokoush, Kabimbetas Noah, Rondenay, Yves, Simon, Audrey, Aenishaenslin, Cécile
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10546191/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37795013
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1199576
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author Daigle, Laurence
Ravel, André
Lévesque, Francis
Mokoush, Kabimbetas Noah
Rondenay, Yves
Simon, Audrey
Aenishaenslin, Cécile
author_facet Daigle, Laurence
Ravel, André
Lévesque, Francis
Mokoush, Kabimbetas Noah
Rondenay, Yves
Simon, Audrey
Aenishaenslin, Cécile
author_sort Daigle, Laurence
collection PubMed
description Globally, people living in northern Indigenous communities are at higher risk of dog bites than the rest of the population living in North America, with annual incidence ranging from 0.61 to 59.6/10,000 inhabitants. Considering that rabies is endemic in wild canid populations in certain regions of the Arctic, the prevention of dog bites and the management of dog populations are of crucial importance for public health in these contexts. Most northern communities lack access to veterinary services, mainly due to their remote geographical location and to limited financial resources. Currently, northern Indigenous communities are using different approaches and strategies to prevent dog bites and manage dog populations, but the effectiveness of these approaches sometimes lacks evidence, and their low acceptability may affect their implementation. This study aims to describe (1) the current access and uses of veterinary services, and (2) the perceived barriers and opportunities related to dog population management practices currently implemented, or that could be implemented, in a Naskapi community and an Innu community located in northern Quebec (Canada). Quantitative data were collected through a survey to inhabitants on veterinary services (n = 122). Qualitative data were collected using individual interviews to inhabitants and health professionals to describe how dog population management measures were perceived, and to identify barriers and opportunities related to their implementation (n = 37). Descriptive and inferential analysis (quantitative data) and thematic analysis (qualitative data) were performed. Results show that the two main measures implemented at the time of the study – dog culling and short-duration veterinary clinics – were not perceived as fully acceptable and sustainable. Reinforcing access to veterinary services and other dog-related services, such as shelters and training programs on dogs, was identified as a need to improve dog bites prevention and dog population management in remote Indigenous communities. The implementation of animal health measures should be decided by concerned Indigenous communities to follow decolonial practices. It includes ensuring informed consent of dog owners, improving communication before, during and after interventions, separating veterinary services from rehoming and, most importantly giving back to Indigenous communities the complete leadership over animal health in their communities.
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spelling pubmed-105461912023-10-04 Barriers and opportunities for improving dog bite prevention and dog management practices in northern Indigenous communities Daigle, Laurence Ravel, André Lévesque, Francis Mokoush, Kabimbetas Noah Rondenay, Yves Simon, Audrey Aenishaenslin, Cécile Front Vet Sci Veterinary Science Globally, people living in northern Indigenous communities are at higher risk of dog bites than the rest of the population living in North America, with annual incidence ranging from 0.61 to 59.6/10,000 inhabitants. Considering that rabies is endemic in wild canid populations in certain regions of the Arctic, the prevention of dog bites and the management of dog populations are of crucial importance for public health in these contexts. Most northern communities lack access to veterinary services, mainly due to their remote geographical location and to limited financial resources. Currently, northern Indigenous communities are using different approaches and strategies to prevent dog bites and manage dog populations, but the effectiveness of these approaches sometimes lacks evidence, and their low acceptability may affect their implementation. This study aims to describe (1) the current access and uses of veterinary services, and (2) the perceived barriers and opportunities related to dog population management practices currently implemented, or that could be implemented, in a Naskapi community and an Innu community located in northern Quebec (Canada). Quantitative data were collected through a survey to inhabitants on veterinary services (n = 122). Qualitative data were collected using individual interviews to inhabitants and health professionals to describe how dog population management measures were perceived, and to identify barriers and opportunities related to their implementation (n = 37). Descriptive and inferential analysis (quantitative data) and thematic analysis (qualitative data) were performed. Results show that the two main measures implemented at the time of the study – dog culling and short-duration veterinary clinics – were not perceived as fully acceptable and sustainable. Reinforcing access to veterinary services and other dog-related services, such as shelters and training programs on dogs, was identified as a need to improve dog bites prevention and dog population management in remote Indigenous communities. The implementation of animal health measures should be decided by concerned Indigenous communities to follow decolonial practices. It includes ensuring informed consent of dog owners, improving communication before, during and after interventions, separating veterinary services from rehoming and, most importantly giving back to Indigenous communities the complete leadership over animal health in their communities. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-09-19 /pmc/articles/PMC10546191/ /pubmed/37795013 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1199576 Text en Copyright © 2023 Daigle, Ravel, Lévesque, Mokoush, Rondenay, Simon and Aenishaenslin. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Veterinary Science
Daigle, Laurence
Ravel, André
Lévesque, Francis
Mokoush, Kabimbetas Noah
Rondenay, Yves
Simon, Audrey
Aenishaenslin, Cécile
Barriers and opportunities for improving dog bite prevention and dog management practices in northern Indigenous communities
title Barriers and opportunities for improving dog bite prevention and dog management practices in northern Indigenous communities
title_full Barriers and opportunities for improving dog bite prevention and dog management practices in northern Indigenous communities
title_fullStr Barriers and opportunities for improving dog bite prevention and dog management practices in northern Indigenous communities
title_full_unstemmed Barriers and opportunities for improving dog bite prevention and dog management practices in northern Indigenous communities
title_short Barriers and opportunities for improving dog bite prevention and dog management practices in northern Indigenous communities
title_sort barriers and opportunities for improving dog bite prevention and dog management practices in northern indigenous communities
topic Veterinary Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10546191/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37795013
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1199576
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