Virbac Animal Health Compassionate Care Online Survey Results Overview Veterinarians & Veterinary Technicians April, 2010

Transcription

1 Virbac Animal Health Compassionate Care Online Survey Results Overview Veterinarians & Veterinary Technicians April, 2010 These survey results have been edited for online viewing. If you would like to receive the full survey report, please use the link provided on this page to request a copy. Kaufman Research Overland Park, KS

2 Methodology Online surveys conducted February, 2010 (Veterinarian Segment) and April, 2010 (Veterinary Technician Segment). invitation to participate sent to small animal practices across the U.S. Separate questionnaires prepared for each of the two segments. Invitation to participate was sent to 7,000 Veterinarians. A total of 257 (4%) completed the survey providing for a maximum error margin in findings of +/- 6.1%. Invitation to participate was sent to 2,700 Veterinary Technicians. A total of 148 (5%) completed the survey providing for a maximum error margin in findings of +/- 7.8%. Virbac was not identified as the sponsor of this survey. 2

3 Objectives Measure the existence of formalized policies/practices in place to handle terminally ill patients and euthanasia both medically and emotionally with pet owners and staff; Measure the number of times a clinic typically faces these situations; Measure awareness of the term compassion fatigue and use of any coping tools or strategies for the veterinarian and clinic staff; Assess the level of concern about compassion fatigue. 3

4 End-of-Life Care: Key Findings Nearly half (47%) of Veterinarians are having end-of-life care discussions with pet owners more than 11 times per month, this compares with 31% for Technicians. 59% - 62% of respondents indicate their clinic currently provides end-of-life assistance and training for owners with terminally ill pets. Quality-of-Life Scale: 48% of Veterinarians and 60% of Technicians do not use a Quality-of-Life Scale. If they do use one, the majority are either partially or entirely self /clinic developed (84% vets). 4

5 Euthanasia: Key Findings 46% of Veterinarians report their clinic performs 11 or more euthanasia procedures a month. 77% of surveyed Technicians have never been asked to perform a euthanasia without a vet, but they all report assisting. 87% of Technicians indicate the pet owner is most often/always in the room. End-of-life Training: Just 12% of Technicians received euthanasia training at their clinic. 86% of Veterinarians are somewhat to extremely interested in a CE program for staff. 5

6 Key Findings Compassion Fatigue: While the majority of Veterinarians and Technicians are to some degree familiar with Compassion Fatigue and nearly all have seen some symptoms in their clinic: 82% of Vets and 70% of Techs report their clinics do not have coping strategies in place Level of concern about the effects of compassion fatigue is 4.79 for Techs and 6.04 for Vets (with 10 = highly concerned) 6

7 Veterinarian Segment 7

8 Discussions on At-Home Care Veterinarians indicated that discussions with pet owners about end-of-life care they can provide at home for their pet typically take place one to fifteen times a month. 53% said the frequency is less than 10 times per month. Another 32% reported these discussions take place 11 to 15 times per month. Frequency of End-of-Life Discussions with Pet Owners on At-Home Care (Base = 257) Less than 10 Times/Month 53% Times 32% 16 to 20 Times 9% 21 to 30 Times 2% More than 30 Times 4% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 8

9 Assistance for Pet Owners 59% of the veterinarians said their clinic currently offers end-of-life care assistance or training for pet owners on how to care for their terminal pets at home. Clinic Offers End-of-Life Care Assistance or Training for At-Home Care of Terminal Pets (Base = 257) NO 41% YES 59% 9

10 Frequency of Performing Euthanasia Just over half (53%) reported their clinic performs euthanasia 10 times per month or less often. 27% said the procedure is performed by their clinic more than 15 times per month. Number of Euthanasias Performed at Clinic in Average Month (Base = 256) 1 to 5 Times/Month 24% 6 to 10 Times 29% 11 to 15 Times 19% 16 to 20 Times 9% More than 20 Times 18% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 10

11 Compassion Fatigue Unaided Awareness More than three-quarters (77%) of these veterinarians said they have heard the term compassion fatigue. Awareness of the Term "Compassion Fatigue" (Base = 257) NO 23% YES 77% 11

12 Familiarity with Condition While 77% previously indicated that they are familiar with the term compassion fatigue, fewer (64%) said they know the symptoms of this condition. Know the Symptoms of Compassion Fatigue (Base = 255) NO 36% YES 64% 12

13 Strategies to Cope When asked to rate their level of concern about the effects of compassion fatigue on themselves or their staff, the average rating within the respondent sample on a 10-point scale (10 = Highly Concerned, 1 = Not at All) was 6.04, only slightly higher than the mid-point. Reinforcing this low level of concern is that only 18% of the veterinarians reported there are strategies in place in their clinic to cope with compassion fatigue if or when it becomes a factor affecting their clinic s team members. Have Strategies in Place to Cope with Compassion Fatigue (Base = 257) YES 18% NO 82% 13

14 Veterinary Technician Segment 14

15 Discussions on At-Home Care 69% of these veterinary technicians personally have discussions with pet owners about the end-of-life care they can provide at home fewer than 10 times a month. Another 24% said this frequency is 11 to 15 times a month. These percentages are comparable to the frequencies cited by the veterinarian segment. Frequency of End-of-Life Discussions with Pet Owners on At-Home Care (Base = 148) Less than 10 Times/Month 69% Times 24% 16 to 20 Times 21 to 30 Times More than 30 Times 0% 2% 5% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 15

16 Assistance for Pet Owners The percentage of veterinary technicians reporting their clinic offers end-of-life care assistance or training for pet owners caring for terminal pets at home is very comparable to the percentage of veterinarians also responding yes to this question 62% of veterinary technicians and 59% of veterinarians. Clinic Offers End-of-Life Care Assistance or Training for At-Home Care of Terminal Pets (Base = 148) NO 38% YES 62% 16

17 Frequency of Performing Euthanasia More than three-quarters of the veterinary technicians said they have never been asked to perform a euthanasia without a veterinarian in the room. 18% said they are typically asked to do this 1 to 5 times a month. Veterinary Technician Asked to Perform Euthanasia without Veterinarian in Room (per Month) (Base = 147) Never 77% 1 to 5 Times/Month 18% 6 to 10 Times 11 to 15 Times Times More than 20 Times 2% 1% 0% 1% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 17

18 Euthanasia Training Only 12% of the veterinary technicians said their clinic provides a euthanasia training program for them. Clinic Offers Euthanasia Training Program for Veterinary Technicians (Base = 147) YES 12% NO 88% 18

19 Compassion Fatigue Unaided Awareness Nearly two-thirds (63%) of the veterinary technicians said they have heard the term compassion fatigue. This compares to 77% of the veterinarians who claim to have heard the term. Awareness of the Term "Compassion Fatigue" (Base = 148) NO 37% YES 63% 19

20 Familiarity with Condition 55% of the veterinary technicians indicated they know the symptoms of compassion fatigue. This compares to 64% of the veterinarians saying they know the symptoms. Know the Symptoms of Compassion Fatigue (Base = 146) NO 45% YES 55% 20

21 Strategies to Cope Veterinary technicians were asked to rate their concern about the effects of compassion fatigue on themselves now or in the future. On a 10-point scale (10 = Highly concerned), the average rating in the segment was very low The veterinarians rating was Only 13% of the veterinary technicians indicated their clinic has strategies in place to cope with compassion fatigue if/when it becomes a factor. This is only slightly lower than the 18% of veterinarians saying their clinic has strategies in place. 17% of the veterinary technicians do not know whether their clinic has strategies in place. Clinic Has Strategies in Place to Cope with Compassion Fatigue (Base = 148) Don't Know 17% YES 13% NO 70% 21

22 Thank you for your interest in compassionate care. If you would like to learn more, please see additional research report summaries posted on this page. These survey results have been edited for online viewing. If you would like to receive the full survey report, please use the link provided on this page to request a copy. Kaufman Research Overland Park, KS