Occurrence and Risk Factors of Dog Bites in Northern Indigenous Communities: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The relationship between northern Indigenous people and dogs has evolved over the past years alongside events such as colonization, settlement, proliferation of snowmobiling and other socio-cultural and environmental changes. These changes have had negative impacts on this relationship, and with the endemic presence of arctic fox rabies, dog bites have become an important public health burden. The objective of this study was to synthesize the state of knowledge regarding the occurrence of dog bites and associated risk factors in the specific context of northern Indigenous communities. A scoping review was conducted in seven bibliographic databases, from June 2018 to May 2020. From this search, 257 original studies were identified and eight papers were included for final analysis. Annual occurrence of dog bites in northern Indigenous communities ranged from 0.61 to 59.6/10,000 inhabitants. Dog bites affected 27–62.9% of the population in those regions during their lifetime. Very few studies compared the occurrence of dog bites between people living in northern communities with other populations or settings, but available evidence suggests that Indigenous people living in northern communities are at higher risk of dog bites than the rest of the population. Several individual and environmental risk factors were identified in the selected studies, although the strength of evidence varied significantly. Age (children) and gender (male) were well documented individual risk factors. Other factors, such as organizational barriers to dog management and lack of access to veterinary services, were identified and discussed by several authors. The results of this study support concerns about the higher risk of bites in northern Indigenous communities, and underscore the urgent need for more research into the contextual and environmental factors that impact the mitigation of these risks.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding dogs and dog bites in Indigenous northern communities: A mixed methods study

“… Main factors influencing the risk of dog bites and rabies in the context of KWW and MLJ-SCH communities [adapted from Daigle et al ( 20 )]. Furthest factors are contextual and environmental factors and circles in the middle are illustrating the main individual factors.…”

“…Themes and codes were generated using an inductive approach to capture the salient features of the data and to represent the main topics raised. Code development was made according to the conceptual knowledge of the research team based on a review of the literature ( 20 ) and the interview material. Codes were initially developed independently by LD and CA and an interactive discussion followed to get a consensus on the code set.…”

“…In northern Indigenous communities, dog bites are frequently reported, but very few studies have investigated their occurrence and risk factors. A recent review showed that available evidence still suggests that Indigenous people living in northern communities are at higher risk of dog bites than the rest of the population ( 20 ). However, the occurrence of bites in these communities vary between studies, from 0.61 to 59.6/10,000 annually, with 27 to 62.9% of inhabitants reporting a dog bite during their lifetime ( 20 ).…”

“…A recent review showed that available evidence still suggests that Indigenous people living in northern communities are at higher risk of dog bites than the rest of the population ( 20 ). However, the occurrence of bites in these communities vary between studies, from 0.61 to 59.6/10,000 annually, with 27 to 62.9% of inhabitants reporting a dog bite during their lifetime ( 20 ). In a study conducted in an Inuit community in northern Quebec (Canada), 40.3% of dog owners reported that they, or a family member, had been bitten or scratched by a dog, with a significant higher proportion of dog bites in Inuit people when compared to non-Inuit in the same village (Inuit 62.9% vs. non-Inuit 15.6%) ( 12 ).…”

Study of dog control strategies

“…In NZ alone, there are an average of 21 665 DRIs per year presenting for medical attention, half of which are dog bite injuries (DBIs), with children bearing the burden of more serious injuries to the head/neck region and higher hospitalisation rates 1. Inequity exists with greater injury rates in less resourced areas worldwide,1 6 with Indigenous populations, including NZ Māori, disproportionately affected 1 7–9…”