Comment on the response by emergency veterinary hospitals during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Wiwanitkit, Viroj

doi:10.1111/vec.12994

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…As one UKbased veterinary nurse wrote, "Dental disease-not immediately life threatening but potentially may cause life altering issues if not treated" (respondent 430). It has been noted that some veterinary services, including preventative measures against diseases with a significant public health or economic impact such as rabies or tuberculosis, have been reduced or suppressed during lockdown (25,37). This, combined with non-veterinary factors such as increased contact between wildlife and livestock, reduced population control, and longer on-farm stays of livestock, are likely to affect the distribution and incidence of transmissible animal diseases and zoonoses (25).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequency, Stressfulness and Type of Ethically Challenging Situations Encountered by Veterinary Team Members During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

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Ethically challenging situations (ECS) are common in veterinary settings and can lead to moral stress. However, there is no published information about how a global pandemic affects the frequency and types of ECS encountered by veterinary team members. An online mixed methods survey was developed to determine the frequency, stressfulness and types of ECS experienced by veterinarians, animal health technicians and veterinary nurses since the advent of the global COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Responses from 540 veterinary team members from 22 countries were analyzed. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the median frequency of ECS encountered by respondents increased from several times per month to several times per week (Spearman Rank Correlation 0.619, P < 0.0001). The most common ECS (encountered at least several times per week) were: challenging decisions about how to proceed when clients have limited finances (64.4%), conflict between personal well-being and professional role (64.3%), conflict between the interests of clients and the interests of their animals (59.6%). These were followed by challenging decisions about what counts as an essential veterinary service (48.1%); conflict between well-being of family/household members and professional role (46.3%); and challenging decisions about whether to perform non-contact veterinary visits (46.3%). The most stressful ECS (reported to be very or maximally stressful) were: conflicts between the interests of clients and the interests of their animals (50.2%), other (42.9%), conflicts between the interests of my employer and my own interests (42.5%), challenging decisions about how to proceed when clients have limited finances (39.4%), conflict between personal well-being and professional role (38.0%), and conflict between well-being of family/household members and professional role (33.6%). Thematic analysis of free-text responses revealed biosecurity, client financial limitations, animal welfare, working conditions, and client relations as prominent themes. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study to describe the impacts of the pandemic on ECS experienced by veterinary teams globally. It identifies an increase in the frequency of ECS associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and a number of stressors unique to the pandemic. We identified a number of resources and strategies that may help veterinary team members navigate ethical challenges that may emerge in their daily work, as well as in the context of global crises.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequency, Stressfulness and Type of Ethically Challenging Situations Encountered by Veterinary Team Members During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

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“…Little has been published on this current topic with most focusing on animal health and well-being rather than veterinary staff (9,(11)(12)(13)(14). One study, together with two letters to the editor of the same authors, revealed the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on American veterinary emergency professionals (15)(16)(17) as well as one comment to the editor referring to the Indochina region (18). Quain et al (19) looked at the ethical challenges veterinary professionals had to experience during this unprecedented major public health burden and evaluated measures regarding biosecurity, client financial limitations, patient welfare, working conditions, and client relations, while Mahdy (20) evaluated the influence COVID-19 pandemic on veterinary student academic performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic During Lockdown on the Veterinary Profession in Romania: A Questionnaire-Based Survey

et al. 2021

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The lockdown period in Romania lasted for 60 days and had the purpose of limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak and manage its consequences through emergency measures on many important areas of activity. This study aimed to gather, assess, analyze and disseminate relevant social, economic, and medical aspects on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic during lockdown on the veterinary profession in Romania. A survey was created using an online questionnaire platform, and disseminated. The survey was completed by a total of 409 individuals. A high number of respondents (71.64%; n = 293) felt exposed to medium or high risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 at their workplace and many (56.97%; n = 233) felt that their professional environment was more stressful than usual during lockdown. Almost all respondents (89.73%; n = 367) declared the implementation of several control measures recommended by FECAVA and FVE (e.g., social distancing, wearing protective equipment, hand washing), but few mentioned the opportunity of remote work or visiting restrictions. Overall, the results show that the impact of lockdown lies directly on four main categories of importance on veterinarian professional's life—human resource, activity management, relationship between veterinarian and authorities, and continuing education.

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“…Regarding preventive medicine, many veterinary hospitals experienced service interruptions, and residents of the area had access to public health services while the area was under lockdown. [4] This may be due to improper illness management, especially the treatment of animal bite injuries. However, information on rabies-related deaths during COVID-19 is scarce.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Death due to rabies after animal bite injury: incidence pre- and post- COVID-19

Sookaromdee¹,

Wiwanitkit

2023

Formos J Surg

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Comment on the response by emergency veterinary hospitals during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Frequency, Stressfulness and Type of Ethically Challenging Situations Encountered by Veterinary Team Members During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Frequency, Stressfulness and Type of Ethically Challenging Situations Encountered by Veterinary Team Members During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic During Lockdown on the Veterinary Profession in Romania: A Questionnaire-Based Survey

Death due to rabies after animal bite injury: incidence pre- and post- COVID-19

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