Adult Emergency Department, Auckland Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
Department of Physiology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Inj Prev. 2022 Jun;28(3):288-297. doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2021-044477. Epub 2022 Apr 7.
The prevention of dog bites is an increasingly important public health topic, as the incidence of serious injury continues to rise.
To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to prevent dog bites and aggression.
Online databases were searched (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and Google Scholar), using the search terms: , for studies between 1960 and 2021. All study designs were considered. Outcomes of interest were the incidence of dog bites or dog aggression. Non-English studies, and those without full-text access were excluded.
Forty-three studies met the review criteria, including 15 observational and 27 interventional studies. Fifteen studies investigating dog-control legislation, including leash laws, stray dog control and infringements indicated this can reduce dog bite rates. Breed-specific legislation had less of an effect. Six studies investigating sterilisation, showed while this may reduce dog bites through a reduction in the dog population, the effect on dog aggression was unclear. An alcohol reduction programme showed a significant reduction in dog bite rates in one study. Seven studies assessing educational approaches found that intensive adult-directed education may be effective, with one study showing child-directed education was not effective. Eight studies on dog training (two police-dog related), and six evaluating dog medication or diet were generally low quality and inconclusive.
Multiple strategies including effective engagement with indigenous communities and organisations will be required to reduce dog-bites and other incidents involving dog aggression. This review provides some evidence that legislated dog control strategies reduce dog bite rates. Available evidence suggests greater restrictions should be made for all dogs, rather than based on breed alone. Due to a burden of child injury, protection of children should be a focus of legislation and further investigations. Prevention strategies in children require redirection away from a focus on child-directed education and future research should investigate the effectiveness of engineering barriers and reporting strategies.
预防狗咬伤是一个日益重要的公共卫生议题，因为严重伤害的发生率持续上升。
评估预防狗咬伤和攻击的干预措施的有效性。
在线数据库（PubMed、Cochrane Library、Embase 和 Google Scholar）进行了搜索，使用的搜索词为：，检索时间为 1960 年至 2021 年的研究。考虑了所有研究设计。感兴趣的结果是狗咬伤或狗攻击的发生率。排除非英语研究和无法获取全文的研究。
43 项研究符合审查标准，包括 15 项观察性研究和 27 项干预性研究。15 项研究调查了犬类控制立法，包括遛狗绳法、流浪狗控制和违规行为，表明这可以降低狗咬伤率。特定品种的立法效果较小。6 项研究调查了绝育，表明虽然这可能通过减少犬只数量来降低狗咬伤率，但对犬只攻击的影响尚不清楚。一项减少酒精摄入的计划在一项研究中显示出狗咬伤率的显著降低。7 项评估教育方法的研究发现，强化成人指导教育可能有效，一项研究表明儿童指导教育无效。8 项关于犬只训练（两项与警犬相关）和 6 项评估犬只药物或饮食的研究通常质量较低且结论不一致。
需要采取多种策略，包括与土著社区和组织的有效合作，以减少狗咬伤和其他涉及狗攻击的事件。本综述提供了一些证据表明，有针对性的犬类控制策略可以降低狗咬伤率。现有证据表明，应针对所有犬只制定更严格的限制，而不仅仅是基于品种。由于儿童受伤的负担，立法应重点保护儿童，并进一步调查。在儿童中预防策略需要从以儿童为导向的教育转移，未来的研究应调查工程障碍和报告策略的有效性。
