Companion animal preventive care at a veterinary teaching hospital - Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of clients
Can Vet J. 2021 May;62(5):484-490.ABSTRACTPreventive care is the cornerstone of health. However, veterinary staff to client (pet owner) communication of disease prevention may be limited resulting in increased pet risk. Our objectives were to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices of clients regarding vaccination and parasite control and describe information sources influencing client preventive care. Over a 6-week period, clients visiting a veterinary teaching hospital in Prince Edward Island, Canada, were invited to complete a written questionnaire. Of those invited, 81% (105/129) completed the questionnaire. Respondents reported low (19 to 33%) to moderate (66 to 79%) coverage for canine "lifestyle" and core vaccines, respectively. Half of the participants reported that they had concern for their pet's health from endo/ectoparasites compared to concern for their/household member's health (27%), despite 45% reporting a person at increased zoonotic risk in their household. Veterinarians (89 to 92%) and online information (39 to 51%) were the highest client-reported resources for vaccine and parasite education. Our work provides a baseline for preventive care practices and highlights a need for improvement.PMID:33967287 | PMC:PMC8048202
Source: The Canadian Veterinary Journal - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Michelle Evason Melissa McGrath Jason Stull Source Type: research
More News: Canada Health | Education | Hospitals | Parasitic Diseases | Parasitology | Teaching | Teaching Hospitals | Universities & Medical Training | Vaccines | Veterinary Research | Veterinary Vaccinations | Zoonoses