Monash University Accident Research Centre

Call-back study investigating paediatric dog bite injury cases that occurred in the domestic setting

Principal Investigators: Karen Ashby and Erin Cassell

Participating Hospitals : Austin Health; Casey Hospital ; Dandenong Hospital ; Maroondah Hospital ; Sunshine Hospital ; Royal Children's Hospital; and Wodonga Regional Health Service.

Study description and purpose

Dog bite is a substantial public health problem among Victorian children, with approximately 173 hospital admissions for dog bite injury and a further 405 hospital emergency department (ED) presentations reported in 2006. Children aged 0-9 years bear the greatest health burden accounting for 82% of admissions and 72% of presentations. Nearly three quarters of dog bite to children occurs in the domestic setting, half in their own homes and half in the homes of a family member, friend or neighbour.

This study aims to investigate dog bite injury to children aged less than 10 years that occur in the domestic setting. Parents/guardians, children (if aged 7-9 years) and dog owners are being recruited from 7 emergency departments across Victoria to take part in this study. The study is funded by the Victorian government through the Bureau of Animal Welfare

We expect to produce information that will identify potential risk factors for dog bite injury in children, including child, dog and environmental factors. The outcomes will guide the development of future policy and injury prevention initiatives in Victoria .

Who is eligible to participate?

We are looking to interview the parent/guardian of between 50 and 70 children aged 0-10 years who have been bitten by a dog in the domestic setting and presented to one of the 7 participating hospitals for treatment.

What do participants have to do?

Parent/guardians who agree to participate will be interviewed by telephone by an experienced research nurse from Monash University Accident Research Centre. The parent/guardian interview will last 30-40 minutes. If the bitten child was aged 7-9 years the nurse will also ask permission to let the child recount the bite story in their own words. As we are interested in knowing about the dog we may also ask you, if the dog does not belong to your household, to identify and contact the dog owner to see if they would be willing to interviewed by telephone about their dog. The dog owner interview will take 10-20 minutes.

What sort of things will be asked during the telephone interview?

We will ask you in detail about the dog bite incident, your child, your families' history of dog ownership, the treatment your child received for the dog bite and any effects from the injury. We are also interested in factors associated with the dog such as age, neuter status, breed, training and behaviour. If you are unfamiliar with the dog we would seek to ask these questions of the dog owner.

If your child is aged 7-9 years we will also ask if you and your child were willing to let them tell us about the dog bite incident in their own words.

Possible benefits

While there will be direct benefit to you or your child from taking part in this study you may have felt a sense of satisfaction from taking part in this research as this study may help prevent future child dog bite injuries

Privacy, confidentiality and disclosure of information

Any information obtained in connection with this project that can identify any individual will remain confidential. In any publication resulting from the project, information will be provided in such a way that individuals cannot be identified. All information will be entered into a computer database as anonymous data sets.

Ethical guidelines

This project will be carried out according to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans produced by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. This statement has been developed to protect the interests of people who agree to participate in human research studies. The Human Research Ethics Committee of each participating hospital has approved the project.

Further information or questions

If you have any questions please contact the research team at the Monash University Accident Research Centre on 9905 1805 or karen.ashby@muarc.monash.edu.au.