Gibson Julie, White Kate, Mossop Liz, Brennan Marnie L
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, UK.
Centre for Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, UK.
Vet Rec. 2025 Mar 15;196(6):e4966. doi: 10.1002/vetr.4966. Epub 2024 Dec 29.
Negative veterinary client complaint behaviour poses wellbeing and reputational risks. Adverse events are one source of complaint. Identifying factors that influence adverse event-related complaint behaviour is key to mitigating detrimental consequences and harnessing information that can be used to improve service quality, patient safety and business sustainability.
Interviews were conducted with five veterinary client complainants and five veterinary client mediators. Qualitative content analysis of the transcripts was used to identify categories of capability, opportunity and motivation influencing client behaviour. One category of motivation identified focused on the desired outcomes of complainants. Two hundred and eighty resolved veterinary‒client mediation cases related to adverse events subsequently underwent content analysis to quantify these desired outcomes.
Client complaint behaviour was motivated by clients' emotional reactions, perceptions and beliefs and desire to achieve an outcome as a result, and was influenced by previous complaint experience, technological ability, self-confidence and broader organisational and societal factors. Although financial redress was the most commonly identified desired outcome, apology, honesty, accountability and prevention of future events were valued.
Small data sets and interpretative analyses limit the generalisability of the findings.
Proactively engaging clients in relation to adverse events is likely to reduce negative complaint behaviour and facilitate veterinary quality improvement.
负面的兽医客户投诉行为会带来健康和声誉风险。不良事件是投诉的一个来源。识别影响与不良事件相关投诉行为的因素，对于减轻有害后果以及利用可用于提高服务质量、患者安全和业务可持续性的信息至关重要。
对五名兽医客户投诉者和五名兽医客户调解人进行了访谈。对访谈记录进行定性内容分析，以确定影响客户行为的能力、机会和动机类别。确定的一类动机侧重于投诉者的期望结果。随后，对280起与不良事件相关的已解决兽医-客户调解案件进行了内容分析，以量化这些期望结果。
客户的投诉行为受其情绪反应、认知和信念以及由此产生的实现某种结果的愿望所驱动，并受到以往投诉经历、技术能力、自信心以及更广泛的组织和社会因素的影响。尽管经济赔偿是最常被提及的期望结果，但道歉、诚实、问责和预防未来事件也受到重视。
小数据集和解释性分析限制了研究结果的普遍性。
就不良事件积极与客户互动，可能会减少负面投诉行为，并促进兽医服务质量的提高。
