Content area
Full Text
* SPECIAL REPORT
Abstract Rats are a common problem in cities worldwide. Impoverished urban neighborhoods are disproportionately affected because factors associated with poverty promote rat infestations and rathuman contact. In public health, most studies have focused on disease transmission, but little is known about the nonphysical consequences of this environmental exposure. Mental health often is neglected but is receiving increasing attention in public health research and practice. The objective of this study was to use a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the published literature to explore the effect of rat exposure on mental health among residents in impoverished urban neighborhoods. Although the literature addressing this topic was sparse, the results of this review suggest that rat exposure consistently has a negative impact on mental health. These effects can be elicited directly (e.g., fear of rat bites) or indirectly (e.g., feeling of disempowerment from inability to tackle rat problems). By developing a better understanding of potential rat-related health risks, both mental and physical, public health officials can better evaluate, refine, and develop their policies regarding rats.
Introduction
Society has a negative perception of rats (Raitus spp.). From a health perspective, they are the source of a number of zoonoses (diseases transmitted to people from animals) that have caused considerable human morbidity and mortality around the world (Himsworth, Parsons, Jardine, & Patrick, 2013). From a sociological perspective, rats have become symbolic of filth and destitution (Edelman, 2002).
Rats thrive in urban centers where human environments provide easy access to harborage (places where pests seek shelter) and food (Clinton, 1969). Aging infrastructure, poor sanitation, high population/housing density, and poverty have been consistently associated with urban rat infestations (Himsworth et al., 2013; Johnson, Bragdon, Olson, Merlino, & Bonaparte, 2016). Many of these conditions are characteristic of impoverished urban neighborhoods in developed countries (Bashir, 2002; Himsworth et al., 2013) and are beyond the control of individual residents, with control resting in the hands of municipalities or landlords. Residents of impoverished urban neighborhoods are often ill-equipped to deal with rat infestations because of low education and income, as well as fear of landlord reprisal (Bashir, 2002).
Although the majority of concerns regarding urban rat infestations are centered around the risk of disease transmission, the incidence of rat-associated illness in...