Abstract
Veterinary communication skills are fundamentally important in animal practice. Despite client-centered communication being recommended as the optimal medical communication style, a paternalistic approach is still common in veterinary medical encounters with pet owners. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a client-centered, evidence-based counseling method aiming to strengthen a person's motivation and commitment to behavior changes. In this exploratory study, the aim was to investigate Swedish small animal veterinarians' use of client centered communication with dog owners regarding dental home care in dogs. This was achieved by analyzing the use of MI-techniques among veterinarians without previous training or knowledge of the method. Individual telephone calls, reflecting a veterinary clinical scenario, between small animal veterinarians (n = 8) and a trained professional actor playing a dog owner were recorded and coded according to an MI coding protocol (MITI 4.2.1). In the present study, the degree of spontaneously used MI was low. From an MI-communication perspective, with a simulated dog owner, the veterinarians predominantly relied on asking questions, giving information, and persuasive talk. The veterinarians dominated the conversations and made minimal attempts to involve the dog owner resulting in a power imbalance between veterinarian and client. As the degree of spontaneously used MI was found to be low, MI-training may be required in order to apply the method in professional counseling. The veterinarians' communication pattern suggested a paternalistic communication style, when attempting to motivate a client to brush his or her dog's teeth. We suggest that Motivational Interviewing (MI) has a potential to improve veterinary communication and adherence to medical recommendations if introduced and implemented in veterinary practice.
Highlights
Effective communication is an important skill in veterinary practice
Client-centered communication has been suggested as the optimal medical communication style, where focus lies on partnership and shared decision-making, with the clinician acting as an advisor or counselor [7]
The results presented in the present study may indicate that the paternalistic communication style is frequently used among Swedish small animal veterinarians, even though this persuasive approach has been proven to be ineffective and increases resistance to change in ambivalent clients [6]
Summary
Effective communication is an important skill in veterinary practice Veterinarians, in their professional role, need to gather and provide information effectively, and to motivate animal owners to implement behavior changes, aiming toward improving the health of their animals, e.g., regarding diet, medication, or home care [1]. The most common communication approach used in a clinical setting is paternalism, in which the veterinarian sets the agenda for the appointment, assumes that the client’s values are the same as the veterinarians, and takes on the role of a guardian [2,3,4,5] In such a relationship, the veterinarian performs most of the talking, while the client has a more passive role, the focus being medical condition, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Data suggest that a biomedical or paternalistic approach is still the most common way of communicating in veterinary practice, and the practice of client-centered communication in veterinary care remains inadequate [4, 11, 12]
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