Knowledge, attitudes and influencers of North American dog‐owners surrounding antimicrobials and antimicrobial stewardship

Abstract

Objectives To quantify the individual influences of antimicrobial cost, method of administration and drug importance in human medicine on dog‐owner antimicrobial preference, and determine knowledge, attitudes and influencers of dog‐owners surrounding antimicrobials and antimicrobial stewardship. Materials and Methods Data were collected through an online survey targeting three dog‐owner participant groups. These consisted of individuals residing in: (1) Canada, (2) USA and (3) any country recruited through an educational social media site. USA and Canadian participants were financially compensated. Conjoint analysis was used to quantify the influence of antimicrobial cost, method of administration and drug importance in human medicine. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used for data evaluation. Results A total of 809 surveys were completed. Antimicrobial cost accounted for 47% of dog‐owner preferences, followed by method of administration (31%) and drug importance in human medicine (22%). All groups preferred lower cost drugs that were administered once by injection. Participants were more likely to prefer drugs considered “very important” in human medicine, except for the social media participants, who preferred drugs that were “not at all important.” Most respondents (86%) reported antimicrobial resistance as important in human medicine and 29% believed antimicrobial use in pets posed a risk for antimicrobial resistance in humans. Participants recruited through social media, and those in the highest education category, were significantly more likely to report antimicrobial use in pets as a risk to people. Clinical Significance Cost was the most important factor in dog‐owner antimicrobial preferences. There is a need for dog‐owner antimicrobial stewardship education.

Pet Owners and Antibiotics: Knowledge, Opinions, Expectations, and Communication Preferences

“…The relatively low priority owners placed on cost is seemingly at odds with the findings of a recent survey of dog owners from North America [ 20 ], which found that low cost of treatment was more important (accounting for 47% of dog owner preferences) than ease (31% of owner preferences). However, the strong signal that convenience is less important to owners than effectiveness is also reflected in a cat owner survey in the UK, in which 88% of owners indicated that getting the most appropriate antibiotic was more important than ease of administration [ 21 ].…”

“…Our results show that owners prefer arguments centered on the health of their pet, the possibility of their pet experiencing direct adverse effects from the antibiotic and the possibility of ‘superbugs’ developing in their pet, and effectiveness over arguments around relative cost, public health or veterinary prescribing guidelines. Arguing for an antimicrobial because it is of lower importance to human and animal medicine is also unlikely to be helpful; most dog owners in the North American study actually indicated a preference for their dog to receive high-importance antimicrobials over lower-importance antimicrobials [ 20 ]. Instead, framing a lower-importance antibiotic as a safer and more effective choice for their pet is likely to be more compelling.…”

“…It is critical that such education and communication skills training are tailored to the knowledge and attitudes of pet owners with respect to antimicrobials for their pets [ 19 ]. We identified only two previous quantitative studies of such factors in pet owners internationally: a discrete choice survey of dog owners, primarily from North America [ 20 ], which elicited the priorities of dog owners when choosing between two antimicrobials; and a survey of cat owners in the United Kingdom (UK) [ 21 ], exploring attitudes to and knowledge about antimicrobials. Four qualitative studies have thematically documented a range of pet owner views of antibiotics in the UK [ 14 , 15 , 22 ] and the United States of America (USA) [ 23 ], but no studies of Australian pet owners have been published.…”

Knowledge, attitudes and influencers of cat owners in North America around antimicrobials and antimicrobial stewardship

“…However, previous surveys of pet owners have provided conflicting evidence on willingness to spend money on veterinary care. [8][9][10] Compliance with treatment is a concern in both human and veterinary medicine. 11 One study on dog owners indicated a preference for not administering oral medications.…”

“…However, previous surveys of pet owners have provided conflicting evidence on willingness to spend money on veterinary care. 8 – 10 …”