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Published on: October 13, 2017
Being Nice Is Not Enough-Exploring Relationship-Centered Veterinary Care With Structural Equation Modeling. A
Alina M Küper1, Roswitha Merle1
1Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
|March 16, 2019
Summary
Relationship-centered care in veterinary medicine enhances pet owner satisfaction. Empathic communication and partnership-building decrease pet owners' need for external information and alternative providers.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Medicine
- Human-Animal Bond
- Communication Studies
Background:
- Relationship-centered care is increasingly recognized in veterinary medicine.
- It emphasizes a partnership between pet owners and veterinarians.
- Limited research exists on its impact in veterinary consultations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore structural equation modeling (SEM) for evaluating relationship-centered care data.
- To assess the association between relationship-centered care characteristics and pet owner outcomes.
- To investigate the influence of empathic communication and partnership-building on pet owner information-seeking behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative survey of 1,270 German pet owners.
- Data collected via online and paper-based questionnaires.
- Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used for analysis.
Main Results:
- SEM results indicated that partnership-centered and empathic communication reduced pet owners' need for further information.
- These communication styles also decreased the likelihood of consulting alternative health providers.
- Addressing owner concerns and discussing treatment options were key factors.
Conclusions:
- Veterinarians should implement partnership-centered care to improve pet owner loyalty and satisfaction.
- Empathic communication and shared decision-making are crucial in veterinary practice.
- This study supports the utility of SEM in quantitative research on relationship-centered care.
Keywords:
empathypartnership buildingrelationship-centered careshared decision makingstructural equation modelingveterinary medicineveterinary-pet owner-communicationMore Related Videos
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