Abstract Introduction: Rabies, a zoonotic disease, primarily transmitted through dog bites, with high mortality rates in India, poses a significant public health challenge. Prompt and appropriate management at the primary care level is crucial to reduce mortality. This study aims to develop a checklist to help primary care medical officers manage animal bites effectively and prevent rabies through timely treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Materials and Methods: A comprehensive checklist for managing animal bites was developed and validated in four phases: literature review, checklist development with expert feedback, content validation by public health and clinical experts, and field testing in various healthcare settings. Content validity was assessed using content validity ratio (CVR) to ensure the necessity of items and item-level content validity index (I-CVI), ensuring the checklist’s relevance and clarity. The final checklist, after expert consultation and field testing, was refined for practical use in primary care settings. Results: A comprehensive checklist for managing animal bites, consisting of six domains and 20 items, was developed, and validated. Expert panel feedback ( n = 11) confirmed the checklist’s relevance, with a CVR above 0.59, and I-CVI scores ranging from 0.78 to 1.00. Scale-Level CVI for the domains ranged from 0.80 to 1.00, indicating strong content validity. Conclusion: The developed checklist offers a structured approach for medical officers to manage animal bites efficiently, ensuring prompt PEP administration, and improved patient outcomes. Its validated content will play a key role in reducing rabies transmission and related risks.
Sharma et al. (2025) studied this question.