Küeper Alina M, Merle Roswitha
Institute for Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Jan 27;7:605631. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.605631. eCollection 2020.
In recent years, the web has become a widely used source for health information. Pet owners seem to respond to the supply of medical information on the Internet by increasing their self-education. However, after more than a decade of the digital revolution, little is known about the Internet's impact on the veterinarian-pet owner relationship. Recent research has raised concerns regarding the increase in self-education among pet owners. However, reasons suggest that the Internet might be a valuable source of pet-owner education for veterinarians. In particular, relationship-centered approaches of care might benefit from the information provided. Our study aimed to determine the perception of German veterinarians with regard to pet owners' self-education on different aspects of veterinary care. An online survey was conducted for German veterinarians from November 2016 to June 2017. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Within the structural equation model, we evaluated how the veterinarians' attitude toward relationship-centered care might affect the evaluation of pet owners' self-education. A total of 585 valid questionnaires were completed. The majority of veterinarians (83.6%) welcomed the principles of shared decision-making. Practically, all veterinarians reported a noticeable increase in pet owners' self-education within the last few years. Perceptions on self-education's impacts on veterinary practice varied among the participants. A beneficial impact of self-education was reported regarding the general quality of veterinary care and quality of follow-up care. Most concerns were related to a negative impact on the veterinarian-pet owner relationship and the pet owners' demands on the veterinarians' work after self-education. Moreover, many participants were afraid that unfiltered information may unsettle pet owners and, therefore, advised them against self-education. The structural equation model confirmed the hypothesis that a veterinarian's positive attitude toward shared decision-making, empathic behavior, and his/her evaluation of self-education were associated. Therefore, we concluded that while there are beneficial potentials, there seem to be barriers that prevent the effective use of the Internet as a supportive medium in veterinary care. Further research and training are needed to enable the use of the Internet as an ancillary medium.
近年来，网络已成为健康信息的广泛来源。宠物主人似乎通过加强自我教育来回应互联网上的医学信息供应。然而，经过十多年的数字革命，人们对互联网对兽医与宠物主人关系的影响知之甚少。最近的研究引发了对宠物主人自我教育增加的担忧。然而，有理由表明，互联网可能是兽医对宠物主人进行教育的宝贵资源。特别是，以关系为中心的护理方法可能会从所提供的信息中受益。我们的研究旨在确定德国兽医对宠物主人在兽医护理不同方面的自我教育的看法。2016年11月至2017年6月对德国兽医进行了一项在线调查。使用探索性因素分析和结构方程模型对数据进行分析。在结构方程模型中，我们评估了兽医对以关系为中心的护理的态度如何影响对宠物主人自我教育的评价。共完成了585份有效问卷。大多数兽医（83.6%）欢迎共同决策的原则。实际上，所有兽医都报告说在过去几年中宠物主人的自我教育有显著增加。参与者对自我教育对兽医实践影响的看法各不相同。据报告，自我教育对兽医护理的总体质量和后续护理质量有有益影响。大多数担忧与对兽医与宠物主人关系的负面影响以及自我教育后宠物主人对兽医工作的要求有关。此外，许多参与者担心未经筛选的信息可能会使宠物主人不安，因此建议他们不要进行自我教育。结构方程模型证实了以下假设：兽医对共同决策的积极态度、共情行为以及他/她对自我教育的评价之间存在关联。因此，我们得出结论，虽然存在有益的潜力，但似乎存在障碍，阻碍了互联网在兽医护理中作为支持性媒介的有效使用。需要进一步的研究和培训，以使互联网能够作为辅助媒介使用。
