Veterinarian communication and its impact on dog and cat owners' satisfaction with care, trust, compliance and the veterinary care a pet receives

Abstract

This explorative study aims to investigate how veterinarian communication and veterinarian-owner relations influence dog and cat owner satisfaction, trust, compliance and the amount of veterinary care a pet receives. It also briefly explores owners’ general knowledge about their dog or cat, in an attempt to reveal common misconceptions that veterinarians might fail to take into consideration when consulting with the owner. An online-survey was conducted among 568 (445 Female, 119 Male) dog and cat owners. Statistical analysis found that veterinarian communication skills correlate positively with client compliance ( rs = 0.306; p < 0.01), satisfaction ( rs = 0,594; p < 0.01) and trust ( rs = 0.693; p < 0.01). Weaker correlations where found between veterinarian communication and the amount of vaccinations and treatments cats ( rs = 0.278; p < 0,01) and dogs ( rs = 0.160; p < 0.01) receive. Using multiple, stepwise linear regression analysis it was also found that client satisfaction is largely accounted for by communication. Areas of improvement in veterinary education and general veterinary communication are discussed in the light of the study’s results and recent research.