{"title":"When veterinarians treat plus-sized pets: Insights for veterinary practice.","authors":"Valli-Laurente Fraser-Celin, Amberlee Boulton, Kathleen Keil, Melanie J Rock, Cindy Adams","doi":"","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Obesity of companion animals in Canada is becoming a problem in veterinary practice. Cats and dogs, in particular, are increasingly overweight. However, prevention and treatment present challenges. Challenges in treating pet obesity, such as client nonadherence and animal welfare issues arising from obesity, also affect the well-being of veterinarians - especially given the coincident high rates of burnout and compassion fatigue experienced in the profession.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study investigated how practicing veterinarians perceive the treatment of overweight companion animals and how treating obese pets affects well-being of veterinarians.</p><p><strong>Animals and procedure: </strong>We recruited veterinarians who routinely treat companion animals in private practice to participate in focus group interviews. We also interviewed veterinarians who could not attend the focus group sessions, yet still wished to contribute. Through thematic data analysis, we generated key themes that illustrated how treating obese pets negatively affects veterinarian well-being.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eighteen companion animal veterinarians contributed to this study. We generated 3 themes from the analysis that illustrate negative effects of treating obese pets on veterinarian well-being: i) negative feelings such as frustration and sadness associated with treating obese pets; ii) owners' lack of comprehension of the effects of obesity on pets, including early euthanasia; and iii) client nonadherence regarding treatment.</p><p><strong>Conclusion and clinical relevance: </strong>This study contributes to the veterinary literature on companion animal obesity by focusing on how treating pet obesity affects veterinarian well-being, especially given high rates of burnout and compassion fatigue in the profession. As pet obesity increases in society, obesity prevention and treatment is becoming central to companion animal veterinary practice. Our findings suggest that veterinarian well-being is negatively affected in connection with companion animal obesity. We recommend relationship-centered communication, increased nutritional expertise, and a focus on wellness in the workplace to improve veterinarian well-being while treating pet obesity.</p>","PeriodicalId":9429,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Veterinary Journal-revue Veterinaire Canadienne","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11339902/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Canadian Veterinary Journal-revue Veterinaire Canadienne","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"VETERINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Obesity of companion animals in Canada is becoming a problem in veterinary practice. Cats and dogs, in particular, are increasingly overweight. However, prevention and treatment present challenges. Challenges in treating pet obesity, such as client nonadherence and animal welfare issues arising from obesity, also affect the well-being of veterinarians - especially given the coincident high rates of burnout and compassion fatigue experienced in the profession.
Objective: This study investigated how practicing veterinarians perceive the treatment of overweight companion animals and how treating obese pets affects well-being of veterinarians.
Animals and procedure: We recruited veterinarians who routinely treat companion animals in private practice to participate in focus group interviews. We also interviewed veterinarians who could not attend the focus group sessions, yet still wished to contribute. Through thematic data analysis, we generated key themes that illustrated how treating obese pets negatively affects veterinarian well-being.
Results: Eighteen companion animal veterinarians contributed to this study. We generated 3 themes from the analysis that illustrate negative effects of treating obese pets on veterinarian well-being: i) negative feelings such as frustration and sadness associated with treating obese pets; ii) owners' lack of comprehension of the effects of obesity on pets, including early euthanasia; and iii) client nonadherence regarding treatment.
Conclusion and clinical relevance: This study contributes to the veterinary literature on companion animal obesity by focusing on how treating pet obesity affects veterinarian well-being, especially given high rates of burnout and compassion fatigue in the profession. As pet obesity increases in society, obesity prevention and treatment is becoming central to companion animal veterinary practice. Our findings suggest that veterinarian well-being is negatively affected in connection with companion animal obesity. We recommend relationship-centered communication, increased nutritional expertise, and a focus on wellness in the workplace to improve veterinarian well-being while treating pet obesity.
期刊介绍：
The Canadian Veterinary Journal (CVJ) provides a forum for the discussion of all matters relevant to the veterinary profession. The mission of the Journal is to educate by informing readers of progress in clinical veterinary medicine, clinical veterinary research, and related fields of endeavor. The key objective of The CVJ is to promote the art and science of veterinary medicine and the betterment of animal health.
A report suggesting that animals have been unnecessarily subjected to adverse, stressful, or harsh conditions or treatments will not be processed for publication. Experimental studies using animals will only be considered for publication if the studies have been approved by an institutional animal care committee, or equivalent, and the guidelines of the Canadian Council on Animal Care, or equivalent, have been followed by the author(s).
分享
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
扫码关注我们
