AUTHOR=de Moura Raphael Rolim , de Castro Wagner Antonio Chiba , Farinhas João Henrique , da Cunha Graziela Ribeiro , Pegoraro Martha Maria de Oliveira , Kmetiuk Louise Bach , dos Santos Andrea Pires , Biondo Alexander Welker 

TITLE=Association of hoarding case identification and animal protection programs to socioeconomic indicators in a major metropolitan area of Brazil

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.872777

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2022.872777

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=The present study assessed the identification of animal and object hoarding disorder cases by contact and mapping and the presence of animal protection programs in association with seven social-economic indicators of the metropolitan area of the ninth-biggest metropolitan area of Brazil. City Secretaries of Health and Environment provided demographic information and responded to a questionnaire. Overall, a very high level of hoarding case identification per municipality was positively associated with a higher Human Development Index, population, density, and income and negatively associated with distance from Curitiba, the capital of Parana State. Low and very low levels of hoarding case identification were positively associated with a greater area, higher Social Vulnerability Index, inequality, illiteracy, and rural areas. Very high identification level of animal protection programs was also positively associated with higher HDI, density and population, urban area, and high income, and negatively associated with a geographical area. Similarly, low and very low levels of animal protection programs identification were positively associated with low income, illiteracy, and distance while negatively associated with higher population, urbanization, and higher HDI. In summary, better identification of hoarding cases and animal protection programs have shown a positive association with better socioeconomic indicators and higher population, density, and urban area. Whether municipalities with better human socioeconomic indicators may stimulate society's demands for identification of cases of individuals with hoarding disorder and animal programs should be further established. Regardless, animal health and welfare have been associated with improving human quality of life in a major Brazilian metropolitan area.