Abstract
The study assesses the impact on client behavior and attitudes toward receiving an information prescription as part of a veterinary office visit. A random sample of veterinary clinics from a Western US metropolitan area was asked to distribute an information prescription in addition to their customary veterinary services. All clients, regardless of the reason for their visit, were presented with an information prescription: a handout that included the uniform resource locator (URL) to a general veterinary medicine website <www.veterinarypartner.com> and several tips to help their clients make more informed choices about where to seek pet health information online. Nearly 40% of clients who reported that they remembered receiving the information prescription accessed the website at least once. Of the clients who reported accessing the suggested website, 86.3% reported finding it "very helpful" or "somewhat helpful." Nearly all the clients (87.9%) reported feeling the information on the site helped them make better decisions for their pets. Most clients reported that it helped them talk to their veterinarians (89.9%) and added to the information they received during their veterinary visits (83.5%). Clients appreciate and utilize veterinary prescriptions, suggesting that this is a tool that both veterinarians and librarians can use to improve animal health and client relations. The value placed on reliable Internet information by veterinary clients suggests several opportunities for librarians to become more proactive in partnering with veterinarians to facilitate the education of pet owners.
Highlights
The number of veterinary visits in the United States has been declining, a trend that began well before recent recession
One reason suggested for this decline is the increased use of the Internet by pet owners for pet health–related information
All participants were analyzed together. Questions relating to their veterinary visits that did not pertain to the information prescription were compiled and sent to each individual veterinary clinic as an incentive for participating in the study
Summary
The number of veterinary visits in the United States has been declining, a trend that began well before recent recession. One reason suggested for this decline is the increased use of the Internet by pet owners for pet health–related information. While the field of online health for humans has been well researched in recent years, very few other studies to date have investigated pet owners’ use of the Internet for veterinary health information [2,3,4]. A study by Hofmeister et al (2008) found veterinary clients ranked the Internet as the third most commonly consulted source of information about pet health, behind general practitioners and veterinary specialists, but ahead of family or friends and other media sources [4]. Another study found that a majority of veterinary clients used the Internet for
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