Abstract
BackgroundCommunication skills are essential for veterinarians who need to discuss animal health related matters with their clients. When dealing with an emerging zoonosis, such as Hendra virus (HeV), veterinarians also have a legal responsibility to inform their clients about the associated risks to human health. Here we report on part of a mixed methods study that examined the preparedness of, and difficulties experienced by, veterinarians communicating about HeV-related risks with their clients.MethodsPhase 1 was an exploratory, qualitative study that consisted of a series of face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with veterinary personnel from Queensland, Australia (2009–10) to identify the barriers to HeV management in equine practices. Phase 2a was a quantitative study that surveyed veterinarians from the same region (2011) and explored the veterinarians’ preparedness and willingness to communicate about HeV-related risks, and the reactions of their clients that they experienced. The second study included both multiple choice and open-ended questions.ResultsThe majority of the participants from Phase 2a (83.1%) declared they had access to a HeV management plan and over half (58.6%) had ready-to-use HeV information available for clients within their practice. Most (87%) reported “always or sometimes” informing clients about HeV-related risks when a horse appeared sick. When HeV was suspected, 58.1% of participants reported their clients were receptive to their safety directives and 24.9% of clients were either initially unreceptive, overwhelmed by fear, or in denial of the associated risks. The thematic analysis of the qualitative data from Phases 1 and 2a uncovered similar themes in relation to HeV-related communication issues experienced by veterinarians: “clients’ intent to adhere”; “adherence deemed redundant”; “misunderstanding or denial of risk”; “cost”; “rural culture”; “fear for reputation”. The theme of “emotional state of clients” was only identified during Phase 1.ConclusionWarning horse owners about health and safety issues that may affect them when present in a veterinary work environment is a legal requirement for veterinarians. However, emerging zoonoses are unpredictable events that may require a different communication approach. Future training programs addressing veterinary communication skills should take into account the particular issues inherent to managing an emerging zoonosis and emphasise the importance of maintaining human safety. Veterinary communication skills and approaches required when dealing with emerging zoonoses should be further investigated.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-017-0970-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Communication skills are essential for veterinarians who need to discuss animal health related matters with their clients
Phase 1 All of the veterinary personnel interviewed were aware of their legal responsibilities in regards to Hendra virus (HeV)-related risks to human health and had some level of HeV management plan in place
The analysis of the data coded to the theme “Risk and risk mitigation communication” yielded a further seven subthemes relating to the reported reactions of horse owners to veterinary advice and instructions about infection control (IC) and HeV management: 1) “Clients’ intent to adhere”; 2)“Adherence deemed redundant”; 3) “Misunderstanding or denial of risk”; 4) “Cost”; 5) “Rural culture”; 6) “Fear for reputation”; and 7) “Emotional state of clients”
Summary
Communication skills are essential for veterinarians who need to discuss animal health related matters with their clients. When dealing with an emerging zoonosis, such as Hendra virus (HeV), veterinarians have a legal responsibility to inform their clients about the associated risks to human health. In Australia, for example, veterinarians have a legal responsibility to prevent their staff and clients from becoming exposed to chemical, physical or infectious risks in the veterinary work environment [28]. This is relevant when managing zoonoses, infectious diseases transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. Veterinary mitigation of known zoonoses has been reported as being less than adequate; leading to occupational infection of veterinary personnel, veterinary students and animal owners [29,30,31,32,33,34]
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