Spitznagel Mary Beth, Solc Meghan, Chapman Kimberly R, Updegraff John, Albers Angela L, Carlson Mark D
Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, 800 E Summit St, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
Dermatology for Animals, 1321 Centerview Circle, Akron, OH, 44321, USA.
Vet Dermatol. 2019 Feb;30(1):3-e2. doi: 10.1111/vde.12696. Epub 2018 Oct 29.
Skin disease in companion animals often requires long-term management which may contribute to caregiver burden in the dermatology client.
HYPOTHESES/OBJECTIVES: We expected greater caregiver burden in dermatology clients relative to healthy control veterinary clients and that no difference would be present between healthy controls and dermatology clients reporting good skin disease control. Within the dermatology sample, we hypothesized that greater caregiver burden would correlate with client perception of the animal's severity of disease (ASD), animal skin disease quality of life (ASD-QoL), and client general quality of life (CG-QoL) and skin disease-related quality of life (CSD-QoL).
Participants were 358 dog owners, including veterinary dermatology clients (n = 152) and healthy general veterinary control clients (n = 206).
Cross-sectional online assessments were completed for client caregiver burden (both samples) and CG-QoL, CSD-QoL, ASD-QoL and ASD (dermatology sample only).
Caregiver burden was greater in dermatology clients overall relative to healthy controls (P < 0.001); it was comparable for those reporting good skin disease control (P > 0.05). Within the dermatology group, correlations between caregiver burden and CSD-QoL were high (r = 0.58; P < 0.001). CG-QoL was predicted by caregiver burden (P < 0.001) but not significantly by CSD-QoL (P > 0.05).
In the presence of good skin disease control, caregiver burden in dermatology clients is as low as general veterinary clients with a healthy dog. Understanding client experiences of companion animal skin disease may be optimized by assessing caregiver burden.
伴侣动物的皮肤病通常需要长期管理，这可能会加重皮肤病患者护理者的负担。
假设/目标：我们预计皮肤病患者护理者的负担比健康对照的兽医患者更重，并且报告皮肤病得到良好控制的健康对照者和皮肤病患者之间不存在差异。在皮肤病样本中，我们假设护理者负担加重与患者对动物疾病严重程度（ASD）、动物皮肤病生活质量（ASD-QoL）、患者总体生活质量（CG-QoL）以及皮肤病相关生活质量（CSD-QoL）的认知相关。
参与者为358名狗主人，包括兽医皮肤病患者（n = 152）和健康的普通兽医对照患者（n = 206）。
针对患者护理者负担（两个样本）以及CG-QoL、CSD-QoL、ASD-QoL和ASD（仅皮肤病样本）完成了横断面在线评估。
总体而言，皮肤病患者护理者的负担比健康对照者更重（P < 0.001）；报告皮肤病得到良好控制的患者之间负担相当（P > 0.05）。在皮肤病组中，护理者负担与CSD-QoL之间的相关性很高（r = 0.58；P < 0.001）。CG-QoL由护理者负担预测（P < 0.001），但不由CSD-QoL显著预测（P > 0.05）。
在皮肤病得到良好控制的情况下，皮肤病患者护理者的负担与拥有健康狗的普通兽医患者一样低。通过评估护理者负担，可能会优化对伴侣动物皮肤病患者体验的理解。
