Guo Huiling, Hildon Zoe Jane-Lara, Wong Lok Hang, Chua Timothy, Teo Boon Han, Chow Angela
Department of Preventive and Population Medicine, Office of Clinical Epidemiology, Analytics, and Knowledge, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and National University Health System, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
One Health. 2025 Feb 11;20:100994. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.100994. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Understanding the factors influencing antibiotic prescribing for pets can inform future interventions to prevent development and spillover of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from pets to other animals, humans and the wider environment.
We conducted interviews with 19 veterinarians (January-July 2022) to explore factors influencing antibiotic prescribing for cats and dogs. Thematic analysis was performed using a VALUE model and themes were segmented by consultation touchpoints.
We observed that veterinary clinics in Singapore heavily prioritised business viability. Existing antibiotic stewardship efforts driven by individual veterinarians were often justified as meeting pet owners' satisfaction instead. National guidelines being loosely followed, but AMR-related values and practices were mostly aligned to those of key decision-making veterinarians. Open discussions on antibiotic prescribing amongst different veterinary professionals and shared decision-making (SDM) with pet owners were common. Audits were welcomed by veterinarians but resource limitations were a major concern.
Recommendations to support veterinarians in prescribing antibiotics appropriately for cats and dogs range from formalising antibiotic stewardship as a clinic value, providing collective training for all veterinary professionals, continuing SDM with pet owners, automating tracking of meaningful indicators for monitoring and evaluation, and setting up a feedback system to inform behaviour change.
了解影响宠物抗生素处方的因素可为未来干预措施提供参考，以预防抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）从宠物传播至其他动物、人类及更广泛的环境。
我们于2022年1月至7月对19名兽医进行了访谈，以探究影响猫和狗抗生素处方的因素。采用VALUE模型进行主题分析，并按咨询接触点对主题进行细分。
我们发现新加坡的兽医诊所高度重视商业可行性。由个别兽医推动的现有抗生素管理工作往往以满足宠物主人的满意度为由。国家指南虽被宽松遵循，但与AMR相关的价值观和做法大多与关键决策兽医的一致。不同兽医专业人员之间关于抗生素处方的公开讨论以及与宠物主人的共同决策（SDM）很常见。兽医欢迎进行审计，但资源限制是一个主要问题。
支持兽医为猫和狗合理开具抗生素的建议包括将抗生素管理正式确立为诊所价值观、为所有兽医专业人员提供集体培训、继续与宠物主人进行共同决策、自动跟踪有意义的指标以进行监测和评估，以及建立反馈系统以促进行为改变。
