Animal care courses: helping fulfill the mandate of animal care committees in Canada

Animal Care Committees (ACCs) at Canadian universities and research centers operate under the aegis of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) and its guidelines for the humane care and treatment of animals in teaching, research, and testing. All Canadian universities have at least one active committee. The committees are expected to assume an educative role beyond the provision of information concerning housing, maintenance, and appropriate conditions for the treatment of animals in research. This includes critical examination of the serious ethical issues involved in animal research within the context of the principles and practices endorsed by the CCAC. One-day animal care courses provided by ACCs at three Canadian universities are described. Comparisons are made between the content and structure of curricula and the ways these relate to the teaching and research mandate in each institution, focusing particularly on the teaching of ethics in each course. The implications for heightening awareness of ethical issues in animal research and improving the effectiveness of these courses are discussed.     

Defining the Animal Care and Use Program

An effective Animal Care and Use Program is critical to an institution's ability to ensure that animal research is conducted humanely and follows all applicable regulations and guidelines; however, no straightforward definition of the fundamentals of such a Program now exists. The author provides a global view of the key programmatic components, which can be used to improve existing programs or implement new programs.     

The Politics of Anti-Creationism: The Committees of Correspondence

When the creationism issue rose to the surface in the late 1970s, an organized opposition to the creationist campaign came from an unexpected source. Local groups of rank and file evolution defenders, led by a retired biology teacher, organized a grassroots network of anti-creationism called the Committees of Correspondence. They basically approached the creationism issue as a political rather than a scientific problem and fought the battle on local fronts, where creationists were heavily engaged in legal campaigns to include their ideas in the public schools. Grassroots anti-creationism was, however, eventually replaced by a centralized national operation with an educational emphasis. In this paper, I will document the development of this neglected part of the creation-evolution controversy and discuss related issues, namely the politics of science that became clearly visible in the course of evolutionists' disputes over anti-creation strategies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Animal Protection Measures in Taiwan: Taiwanese Attitudes Toward the Animal Protection Law and Animal Shelters

This study used a questionnaire, self-administered by 387 Taiwanese citizens, to assess Taiwanese perception and knowledge of the Animal Protection Law and perception and use of animal shelters. Most respondents (87%) knew that Taiwan has legal protection for animals. A –5 to 5 summary score measured knowledge of companion animal dog-related legal requirements. The median score was 3, indicating that almost all respondents had inadequate knowledge about these requirements. Although more dog caregivers had adequate knowledge of the law than did nondog caregivers (prevalence ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 3.2), only 19% had adequate knowledge. Although most respondents (81%) knew Taiwan has animal shelters, only 19 (5%) reported visiting or participating in shelter activities. Only 6 (32%) of shelter visitors or users had a "good or better" impression of services received. Despite low usage of animal shelters, most respondents thought shelters should accept (87%) and relocate (90%) unwanted animals, capture strays (64%), assist in finding lost pets (79%), and educate the public about responsible ownership (85%). More than half (52%) thought shelters should perform euthanasia.     

The Health Care Cost of Dying: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study of the Last Year of Life in Ontario,Canada

Background

Coordinated and appropriate health care across sectors is an ongoing challenge, especially at the end-of-life. Population-level data on end-of-life health care use and cost, however, are seldom reported across a comprehensive array of sectors. Such data will identify the level of care being provided and areas where care can be optimized.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study identified all deaths in Ontario from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2013. Using population-based health administrative databases, we examined health care use and cost in the last year of life.

Results

Among 264,755 decedents, the average health care cost in the last year of life was $53,661 (Quartile 1-Quartile 3: $19,568-$66,875). The total captured annual cost of $4.7 billion represents approximately 10% of all government-funded health care. Inpatient care, incurred by 75% of decedents, contributed 42.9% of total costs ($30,872 per user). Physician services, medications/devices, laboratories, and emergency rooms combined to less than 20% of total cost. About one-quarter used long-term-care and 60% used home care ($34,381 and $7,347 per user, respectively). Total cost did not vary by sex or neighborhood income quintile, but were less among rural residents. Costs rose sharply in the last 120 days prior to death, predominantly for inpatient care.

Interpretation

This analysis adds new information about the breadth of end-of-life health care, which consumes a large proportion of Ontario’s health care budget. The cost of inpatient care and long-term care are substantial. Introducing interventions that reduce or delay institutional care will likely reduce costs incurred at the end of life.