| Introduction: Mental wellness is a growing concern in the veterinary community, which has been shocked by recent high-profile suicides. The Canadian public relies on veterinarians for a wide range of services, from food safety and agricultural support, to caring for the pets that over 60% of Canadians own. Evidence from other caregiving professions suggests that poor mental wellness has a negative impact on the recipients of care. Similar research on veterinarians, veterinary clients and patients is lacking. Objectives : This project explores the impact of veterinarian wellness (stress, anxiety, depression, compassion fatigue, burnout, and resilience, as measured via validated scales) on patient-centred communication from the perspective of the veterinarian, the client, and the research team, as well as veterinarian and client satisfaction with each interaction. Methods: Companion animal veterinarians and their clients will be recruited throughout southwestern Ontario in 2017 and 2018. Veterinarians will complete a questionnaire including mental wellness scales, and both clients and veterinarians will complete questionnaires on appointment-specific satisfaction and patient-centered communication. The appointments will also be filmed to allow for communication analysis by the research team. Regression models will be used to investigate associations of communication and satisfaction outcomes with veterinarian wellness. Anticipated Findings & Discussion: This study is the first to explore the association between veterinarian wellness and outcomes of care. We hypothesize that poor mental wellness among veterinarians will be have a negative impact on veterinarian-client communication and client satisfaction. These unique data will help inform wellness education and intervention efforts for the veterinary profession. Authors:
*PERRET, Jennifer, BEST, Colleen, COE, Jason, KHOSA, Deep, GREER, Amy, JONES-BITTON, Andria Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada |