Background: Effective communication has been found to have positive associations with client satisfaction, client adherence and veterinarian satisfaction in companion animal medicine. Better understanding the role of communication on these outcomes, specifically producer satisfaction, is likely to benefit food‐animal medicine. Objectives were to identify factors associated with producer visit‐specific satisfaction following on‐farm veterinarian–producer interactions and evaluate the validity of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire for use in food‐animal medicine. Methods: A cross‐sectional sample of practicing food‐animal veterinarians and their producer clients were recruited in Ontario, Canada. Immediately following the veterinarian‐producer interaction, producers completed a questionnaire that assessed their visit‐specific satisfaction and their perception of the producer‐centeredness of the interaction. Veterinarians completed a questionnaire that assessed their perception of the interaction's producer‐centeredness. A linear regression model was developed to identify factors associated with producer visit‐specific satisfaction. Results: Forty‐one veterinarians and 207 producers participated. Factors associated with producer visit‐specific satisfaction included producer age (satisfaction decreased with age), producer gender (males less satisfied) and producer perception of producer‐centeredness score (satisfaction increased with producer perception of producer‐centeredness score). Conclusion: Findings raise awareness of the importance of a producer's perception of producer‐centeredness in food‐animal practice and encourage its use by food‐animal veterinarians in working towards positive outcomes.

Background: Human medicine has demonstrated that a patient‐centered physician‐patient relationship is more effective than the traditional physician‐centered model. Objectives were to explore food‐animal veterinarians’ and producers’ perceptions of producer‐centered communication (VPPC and PPPC), during on‐farm interactions and examine associated factors. Methods: A cross‐sectional sample of food‐animal veterinarians and their clients were recruited in Ontario, Canada. Immediately following on‐farm veterinarian‐producer interactions, the producer and veterinarian independently completed a questionnaire assessing PPC. Symmetry of paired responses between veterinarians and producers was examined. Employing listwise deletion, independent mixed linear regression models were developed to determine factors associated with PPPC and VPPC, respectively. Results: Two hundred and three paired veterinarian and producer survey responses were analysed. Significant asymmetry (p‐value < 0.05) was observed, with veterinarians assessing PPC lower than producers. Based on data from 32 veterinarians and 159 producers, the only factor associated with PPPC was veterinarian burnout (PPPC decreased with burnout). Based on data from 32 veterinarians and 155 producers, factors positively associated with VPPC included veterinarian compassion satisfaction (VPPC increased with compassion satisfaction), length of interaction (VPPC increased with length of interaction) and producers identifying as female (VPPC higher with female producers). Conclusion: Producer's positive PPPC is encouraging, yet veterinarians should be aware that mental health parameters may impact producers’ and their own perceptions of PPC. Further examining veterinarians’ delivery of PPC is important for food‐animal practice.

Background The objectives of this study were to explore the level of shared decision making (SDM) between veterinarians and dairy and beef producers during on‐farm interactions and to identify factors associated with veterinarians’ use of SDM behaviours. Methods A cross‐sectional sample of food‐animal veterinarians and their clients were recruited in Ontario, Canada. Their on‐farm interactions were audio–video recorded. The recordings were analysed using the ‘Observing Patient Involvement in Decision Making’ (observer OPTION5) instrument to determine the level of SDM utilised during preference‐sensitive decisions. A logistic regression model was developed to assess factors associated with a preference‐sensitive decision occurring. Meanwhile, a linear regression model was developed to identify factors associated with the level of SDM used. Results Forty‐one veterinarians participated, and 186 unique veterinarian–producer interactions were audio–video recorded and OPTION5 score was calculated. SDM scores were low and comparable to other studies using the OPTION5 instrument. The only factor associated with whether a preference‐sensitive decision occurred was the length of the veterinarian and producer's relationship (in years). As the length of their relationship increased, a preference‐sensitive decision was less likely to occur. The use of SDM behaviours was found to decrease as veterinarian burnout score increased. These findings demonstrate that SDM behaviours are being used by food‐animal veterinarians, yet an opportunity exists to further implement more producer‐centred SDM skills into on‐farm interactions. Limitations Small portions of veterinarian–producer conversation occurred outside of audio–video‐recorded interactions and were not included in the analysis. Conclusion The results of this study aid in further understanding on‐farm interactions between veterinarians and producers and can help to further improve veterinary communication curricula.