Companion Animal Veterinary Practices Research Articles

Expert consensus regarding drivers of antimicrobial stewardship in companion animal veterinary practice: a Delphi study

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global challenge facing both human and animal healthcare professionals; an effective response to this threat requires a ‘One-Health’ approach to antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) to preserve...

Evaluation of a canine and feline behavioural welfare assessment tool for use in companion animal veterinary practice

Veterinary care can both positively and negatively impact animal welfare in terms of behavioural welfare. This occurs both in the veterinary clinic through interactions with patients and management of their stress, fear and aggression, and in the animal’s home through the provision of behaviour and training advice for behavioural management as a whole. An animal welfare assessment scheme, incorporating management-, resource- and animal-based measures of animal welfare through interviews and appointment observations, was developed to assess practices related to behavioural welfare in small animal veterinary clinics. It was tested for reliability, validity, and feasibility in 30 companion and mixed animal veterinary clinics, and information concerning current behavioural welfare practices was also collected. Based on weighted kappa statistics, inter-observer reliability showed almost perfect agreement for interview scoring (Kw = 0.82 and 0.81) and substantial agreement for appointment observation scoring (Kw = 0.74 and 0.70); however, at the individual question and handling item level, weighted kappa statistics for inter-observer reliability ranged greatly. Interviews were more feasible to carry out than appointment observations, although discrepancies between interview responses and veterinary staff-patient interactions observed during appointments suggest that interviews might be a less valid measure. Descriptive results suggest that there is enough variability in most assessed areas to allow for differentiation between veterinary clinics on the basis of their behavioural welfare practices. Additional research is required to explore these trends in strengths and areas for improvement in a larger sample of veterinary clinics.

Antimicrobial use in companion animals and Good Stewardship Practice

THE growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is focusing human and animal medicine on all aspects of how to improve antimicrobial drug use, so that we can not only try...

Characterisation of antimicrobial usage in cats and dogs attending UK primary care companion animal veterinary practices

There is scant evidence describing antimicrobial (AM) usage in companion animal primary care veterinary practices in the UK. The use of AMs in dogs and cats was quantified using data...

The role of veterinary team effectiveness in job satisfaction and burnout in companion animal veterinary clinics.

To determine the role of veterinary team effectiveness regarding job satisfaction and burnout in companion animal veterinary practice. Cross-sectional observational study. 48 companion animal veterinary health-care teams. 274 team members participated in an online survey. Overall job satisfaction was evaluated with a 1-item measure, and the 3 dimensions of burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) were measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey. Team effectiveness was assessed with a survey developed for this study. Demographic and team effectiveness factors (coordinated team environment, toxic team environment, team engagement, and individual engagement) associated with job satisfaction and burnout were evaluated. Overall mean job satisfaction score was 5.46 of 7 (median, 6.00); veterinary technicians and kennel attendants had the lowest scores. According to the Maslach survey results, 22.4% of participants were in the high-risk category for exhaustion, 23.2% were in the high-risk category for cynicism, and 9.3% were in the high-risk category for professional efficacy. A coordinated team environment was associated with increased professional efficacy and decreased cynicism. A toxic team environment was negatively associated with job satisfaction and positively associated with exhaustion and cynicism. Individual engagement was positively associated with job satisfaction and professional efficacy and negatively associated with exhaustion and cynicism. Results suggested the effectiveness of a veterinary team can significantly influence individual team members' job satisfaction and burnout. Practices should pay specific attention to the effectiveness with which their veterinary team operates.

Companion animal veterinary practices in China and service quality

The companion animal market in China is a developing one but little is known about the quality of the interaction between the veterinarian and the client. Managing customer service quality is of great importance to any veterinary practice and there are several ways in which it can be assessed. This study used Importance–Performance Analysis to evaluate the service quality of veterinary practices operating in Beijing. Suggested areas for improvement were for Beijing veterinarians to pay more attention to their attitude towards their clients and costs of treatment.

Evaluation of Specific Infection Control Practices Used by Companion Animal Veterinarians in Community Veterinary Practices in Southern Ontario

This study evaluated specific infection control practices in community veterinary practices in southern Ontario. Environmental disinfection, management of infectious patients and antimicrobial use in clean surgical procedures were investigated. Community companion animal veterinary practices (n=101) in Southern Ontario were recruited, and a questionnaire was administered to one veterinarian and one veterinary technician from each practice. The veterinarian questionnaire gathered data on clinic demographics, management of infectious patients, infectious diseases of concern, environmental disinfection and antimicrobial use in surgical procedures. The veterinary technician questionnaire gathered data on environmental disinfection. None of the veterinary practices had a formal infection control programme. Sixty-five per cent (n=66) of the veterinary practices did not have an isolation area and 61% (n=40) of these practices did not employ any specific infection control measures for infectious cases. The products most frequently used for environmental disinfection were hydrogen peroxide based or quaternary ammonium compounds. Bleach was the agent most commonly used for environmental disinfection of infectious body fluids; however 60% of the veterinarians and 40% of the veterinary technicians did not identify a product for environmental disinfection of infectious body fluids. Twenty-four per cent of the veterinarians reported using antimicrobials in animals undergoing elective sterilization surgeries and 60% reported using antimicrobials in other clean surgical procedures. There is a need for community veterinary practices to develop infection control programmes specific to their individual practice. In addition, veterinarians should discontinue the common use of antimicrobials for clean elective sterilization surgical procedures.

The Role of Phenylethylamine during Positive Human-Dog Interaction

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