Evaluation of Community-Based Dog Welfare and Rabies Project in Sanur, a Sub-district of the Indonesian Island Province of Bali

Access to veterinary care: evaluating working definitions, barriers, and implications for animal welfare

Humans have a moral obligation to meet the physical and mental needs of the animals in their care. This requires access to resources such as veterinary care, which is integral to achieving animal welfare. However, "access" to veterinary care is not always homogenous across communities and currently lacks a consistent definition. The objectives of this scoping review were to (1) understand how "access" to veterinary care has been defined in the literature, (2) map a broad list of potential barriers that may influence access to veterinary care, and (3) identify how access to care impacts the welfare of companion and livestock animals. The literature search yielded a total of 1,044 publications, 77 of which were relevant to our inclusion criteria, and were published between 2002 and 2022. Studies were most frequently conducted in the United States (n = 17) and Canada (n = 11). Publications defining access to veterinary care (n = 10) or discussing its impacts on animal welfare (n = 13) were minimal. However, barriers to accessing veterinary care were thoroughly discussed in the literature (n = 69) and were categorized into ten themes according to common challenges and keywords, with financial limitations (n = 57), geographic location (n = 35), and limited personnel/equipment (n = 32) being the most frequently reported. The results of this scoping review informed our proposed definition of access to veterinary care. Additionally, our findings identified a need to further investigate several understudied barriers relating to access to care (i.e., veterinarian-client relationship, client identity) and to better understand how they potentially affect animal welfare outcomes.

Impact Assessment of Free-Roaming Dog Population Management by CNVR in Greater Bangkok

A high-intensity catch, neuter, vaccinate and return (CNVR) intervention was used over 5 years to manage the free-roaming dog population of Greater Bangkok, using nearly 300,000 CNVR operations across six provinces. An evaluation was conducted using multiple methods to assess the impact of this intervention, including clinical data, an observational street survey, an online attitude survey and reported cases of dog rabies confirmed with laboratory testing. The evaluation found evidence of a reduction in free-roaming dog density over time (24.7% reduction over 5 years), a reduction in dog rabies cases (average reduction of 5.7% rabies cases per month) and an improvement in dog-human relationships (a 39% increase per year in free-roaming dogs with visible signs of ownership or care and a perception of less trouble with free-roaming dogs in districts benefiting from CNVR). The CNVR intervention appears to have been effective at reducing the current free-roaming dog population and minimizing one future source of free-roaming dogs by limiting breeding of dogs accessible on the streets. However, there is evidence that other sources of free-roaming dogs exist, presumed to be predominately abandoned or lost owned dogs that were previously inaccessible to the CNVR intervention because they were ordinarily confined or living outside the project area. Hence, fully effective dog population management will require further interventions targeting owned dogs in addition to this CNVR effort.

Designing a rabies control mobile application for a community-based rabies surveillance system during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bali, Indonesia

Background and Aim: Rabies remains a public health concern in Indonesia, and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has stymied rabies prevention and control efforts. There is a need to transform the rabies program to be adaptable to pandemic situations to improve program coverage on dog vaccination and rabies surveillance. This study aimed to create a rabies control (RaCon) mobile application for a community-based rabies surveillance system during COVID-19 in Bali, Indonesia. Materials and Methods: We employ the Design Science Research methodology. Surveillance officers, veterinarians, community leaders, outreach workers, and dog owners participated in a series of offline in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The RaCon prototype was evaluated using the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) framework, which included the system's usefulness, information quality, and interface quality. In this study, we used both a qualitative (n=50) and quantitative (n=342) approach. Results: According to the findings of this study, integrating public health and animal health into the rabies surveillance system are critical to supporting the One Health approach and encouraging community engagement in rabies programs. The RaCon prototype is expected to include features such as pet ownership, case report, news and announcements, nearest vet, health information, outbreak radar, emergency call, and app feedback. The RaCon prototype passed both qualitative and quantitative evaluations, indicating that it could be used to support the rabies surveillance system, particularly in the COVID-19 situation. Conclusion: The RaCon prototype was accepted by the users and got positive feedback in terms of the system's usefulness, information quality, and interface quality dimension. As a result, this prototype has the potential to be integrated into the rabies surveillance system in Bali, particularly to strengthen the community-based rabies surveillance system. Even though this prototype received positive feedback, this study focuses solely on the design development and evaluation of its user interface. As a result, further development is required before incorporating RaCon into the rabies prevention and control program.

Prevalence and distribution of soil-transmitted helminth infection in free-roaming dogs in Bali Province, Indonesia

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Several free-roaming dogs can be easily found in the public areas of Bali. They go out in search of foods and friends and defecate everywhere. In general, these groups of dogs do not receive good healthcare from their owners and are generally threatened by some disease-causing organisms, especially helminths. This study was conducted to identify and measure the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) that cause infection in free-roaming dogs in Bali Province, Indonesia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 1611 fresh dog fecal samples were collected from all areas of Bali Province and subjected to qualitative fecal examination using flotation techniques to obtain STH eggs.

RESULTS

The incidence of STHs in free-roaming dogs was 38.36%. However, three types of STHs were identified, including Ancylostoma spp., Ascaris spp., and Trichuris spp. Ancylostoma spp. had the highest prevalence of 37.8%, followed by Ascaris spp. and Trichuris spp. at 6.02% and 0.87%, respectively. Multiple infections of these worms were also recorded. The polyparasitism prevalence of Ancylostoma spp. and Ascaris spp. was 3.85%, followed by that of Ancylostoma spp. and Trichuris spp. at 0.5% and that of Ascaris spp. and Trichuris spp. at 0.06%. There were no altitude-wise differences in the prevalence of STH infection.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of STHs was high in free-roaming dogs. This finding necessitates more serious attention as it affects both animal and public health.

Human Behaviour Change Interventions in Animal Care and Interactive Settings: A Review and Framework for Design and Evaluation

Simple Summary

In many cases, to improve animal welfare, we must change the behaviour of the people who manage them, care for them, and interact with them. This can be achieved through behaviour change interventions. In this review, we aimed to explore the current state of the behaviour change literature in animal care and interactive settings. We identified significant deficiencies in the design, evaluation, and reporting of these interventions. It was often unclear what behaviours were targeted, how the intervention was designed to work, what was in it, and how it was delivered. Without this information, interventions cannot be rigorously evaluated, built upon by others, or implemented in other settings. Transparent reporting and a structured approach to the design and evaluation of interventions is now required to help the field move forward in a more consistent and robust way. We present such a framework, the “Ten-Task” guide, based on the intervention mapping framework, and demonstrate how its adoption would help progress this field substantially.

Abstract

Behaviour change interventions may be one of the most promising avenues to improve animal welfare. Yet there has been limited systematic research involving them in animal-related settings. We searched three major databases for studies involving an intervention to change interactive or care-related behaviours in any animal-related setting. Forty-seven papers were included in the review and each paper was coded for specific design and evaluation elements. We found a series of limitations in the quality and consistency of intervention design, evaluation, and reporting. Hence, we present a framework, the “Ten-Task” guide, based on the intervention mapping framework, to guide future work in this field. Adopting this structured approach will improve the quality and efficacy of behaviour change interventions for animal welfare and allow for the field to progress in a harmonious way.