1 Cause, Setting, and Ownership Analysis of Dog Bites in Bay County, Florida from James Matthias Michael Templin

2 Background  CDC estimates more than 4.7 million dog bites occur annually  More than 800,000 Americans will receive medical care resulting from dog bites  Average cost of a dog bite-related hospital stay found to be $18,200 †  Data on dog bites typically collected through hospital discharge or emergency room visit data †

3 How this data is different?  Hospital and Vital Statistics: Demographics Economics Short-term Outcomes Counts  Basically the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and HOW MUCH  Bay County Dataset Some Demographics Cause Restraint-levels Ownership Dog-Breed  Basically the WHO, WHERE, HOW, and WHY

4 Presentation Objectives  Describe the 800 dog bite reports from 2009 to 2010  Focus on 3 main variables by age and sex: Victim’s relationship to the dog Restraint level of dog at time of bite Cause of the bite  Adapt prevention messages based on target audience

5 About Bay County  Major City: Panama City  2010 Population *: 170,637  White : 144,758 (84.8%)  Black : 19,893 (11.7%)  Hispanic: 7,725 (4.5%)  Industry: Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (17.7%), then Leisure and Hospitality (16.7%)  Per capita income:$36,316  Est. Dog Pop.: 43,137 † *Population estimates from: floridacharts.com † Pet Population estimates from: AVMA U.S. pet ownership calculator

6 Dog Bite Incidence Rates

7 Role of Gender in Dog Bites

8 Victim’s Relationship to Dog

9 Role of Gender in Dog Bites * Victim’s relationship to dog is statistical significantly different by gender (p<0.001)

10 Victim’s Relationship to Dog  Nationwide 80% of bites to people under 18 years old caused by family or neighbor’s dog  Similar for 0 – 5 year olds in this dataset 87% for 0 – 5 year olds Only 59% for 6 – 14 year olds  Acquaintance dog bites represent 45% of bites to 0 – 5 year old girls  Half of all dog bites to 15+ year olds from dogs unfamiliar to victim

11 Restraint Status of the Dog  32% of all dog bites occurred from unrestrained dogs off of the owner’s property Comprised mostly of bites from an unfamiliar dog  28% of bites occur within the home of the owner  21% of bites occur from a dog restrained or confined on owners property

12 Role of Gender in Dog Bites

13 Dog Bites in the Home

14 Causes of the Bite  Very little data on cause of dog bite most anecdotal  More than 90% of bites are provoked †  100% of bites could be prevented Modification of human behavior Modification of dog and dog behavior Modification of exposure and environment †

15 Causes of The Bite  Wide variety of causes with originally 24 different categories  Separating dog fights the number 1 cause of bites, unknown cause 2 nd, and territorial or protective dog bites being 3 rd  Cause of bite varies tremendously on age and sex of person bitten

16 Role of Gender in Dog Bites * Primary causes of dog bites are statistically different by gender (p<0.001)

17 Unknown Cause Dog Bites  39% of bites to 0 – 5 year olds were due to unknown causes Victim unable to describe incident Lack of parental supervision  Between 7 to 14% for the other age groups Systematic in most instances Lack of desire to indicate the circumstances that caused the bite in some instances

18 Separating Dog Fight Bites

19 A Unique Perspective  Able to gather bite information from sources outside of hospitals Account for higher incidence rates observed in this study Still required someone to report bite  Situational variables not commonly collected in statistical format including: Restraint of the dog Cause of the bite

20 Different Strata, Different Outcomes  Incidence varies by sex and age caused by changes in: the cause of dog bites the location of the attack the relationship of the dog to the victim other factors  The need for prevention messages or interventions to be tailored to target populations and circumstances (i.e. young boys vs. middle-aged women)

21 Questions?  Thank you to Michael Templin, Kalynn Pressly, and the Bay County Health Department for their time and effort in this project  Thank you to Kyla Shelton, Dr. Danielle Stanek, and members of the Florida Department of Health for their assistance in this project