Being Nice Is Not Enough-Exploring Relationship-Centered Veterinary Care With Structural Equation Modeling. A Quantitative Study on German Pet Owners' Perception

Abstract

During the last years, the philosophy of relationship-centered care gained increasing attention in veterinary medicine. Relationship-centered care is based on a joint venture between pet owner and veterinarians and therefore offers the opportunity to satisfy the pet owners' need for participation in medical decision-making and to provide the best care for the patient. Although research on relationship-centered care in the veterinary consultation is still limited, the available findings suggest that the characteristics of relationship-centered care reflect the pet owners' expectations on satisfactory veterinary care. In this study a quantitative survey was conducted among German pet owners that collected information regarding their perception of the veterinarians' communication during the last appointments. Questionnaires were available online and paper-based. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling using SAS. First aim of the study was to explore structural equation modeling (SEM) as an opportunity to evaluate quantitative data in the field of research on relationship-centered care. Further, SEM was used to evaluate associations between the implementation of different characteristics of relationship-centered care in the veterinary practice (empathic communication, partnership-building) and latent outcome variables regarding the pet owners (pet owners' need for further information, consultation of competing health care providers). N = 1,270 valid questionnaires were completed. Participants owned small companion animals (55.6%), horses (7.6%), or both (36.9%) within the last 2 years. Results of SEM suggest that partnership-centered and empathic communication decreased the pet owners' needs for further information (e.g., from online sources) and their need to consult alternative health providers (e.g., homeopaths). Especially addressing the pet owners' worries and fears, discussing pros and cons of diagnostic and therapeutic options as well as providing the required amount of information were shown to be large influence factors within the model. Therefore, veterinarians are recommended to implement the concept of partnership-centered care in their daily practice, for it may increase pet owners' loyalty and satisfaction. Results may motivate future research in this field. Further development of the proposed model assumptions may enable valuable progress in the field of quantitative research on relationship-centered care.

Partners in Sickness and in Health? Relationship-Centered Veterinary Care and Self-Educated Pet Owners in Germany: A Structural Equation Model

“…Clearly, the Internet offers risks that must be kept in mind while working with self-educated pet owners. Currently, most pet owners report almost exclusively the use of search engines for research on pet health ( 32 , 35 ). This entails a strong information bias owing to website ranking, which is primarily influenced by online marketing measures instead of substantive assessments.…”

Pet owners' online information searches and the perceived effects on interactions and relationships with their veterinarians

“…An expanding body of literature documents research in relationship-centered healthcare which emphasises a collaborative healthcare model built on partnerships and joint decision-making between human healthcare providers, patients, and their families (1)(2)(3)(4). Arising from studies in human medicine (5) and social sciences (6), such relationship-centered care [RCC], acknowledges a growing need for equal participation in health decisionmaking.…”

“…The existing literature on BCC has largely focused on the veterinarian's role in the veterinarian-pet owner interaction. For example, publications describe BCC's underlying philosophy to provide guidance for veterinarians on integrating this healthcare model into daily practice (4,11), including some research that focused on the impact of practicing BCC on veterinarian wellness (12,13). Other research emphasises the veterinarian's contributions to BCC, highlighting the veterinarian as an educator and support person along with being the medical expert to help pet owners in decision-making (14).…”

“…Other research emphasises the veterinarian's contributions to BCC, highlighting the veterinarian as an educator and support person along with being the medical expert to help pet owners in decision-making (14). Related publications offer ideas to veterinarians for enhancing their contributions in BCC, such as developing communication skills to build strong bonds with pet owners (4,10). In contrast, far less research has investigated pet owners' contributions in BCC.…”

Companion animal veterinarians’ and veterinary clients’ perceptions of information exchanged while communicating about blood tests

“…Providing information to clients has the potential to provide clients with a greater sense of control of their pet's health, 13 whereas an unmet need for information may leave clients with a desire for more medical information. 11 Findings of the current study indicate there may be an opportunity to enhance the reporting of blood work by creating more client-friendly versions of blood test results and providing easy online access, as the majority of veterinarian participants believed that more information on blood test reports may help client understanding. Further, one out of two veterinarian participants believed this would improve their relationship with their clients.…”