Small animal veterinarians’ communication with pet owners from av Motivational Interviewing (MI) perspective

Communication is a significant part of the veterinary profession. A veterinarian does not only need the skills to make the correct diagnosis, but also to communicate effectively for the treatment to be successful. In many cases, treatment plans require the pet owner to change their behavior, which...

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Main Author: Jennolf, Ebba
Format: H3
Language:Inglés
Published: SLU/Dept. of Clinical Sciences (until 231231) 2021
Subjects:
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author Jennolf, Ebba
author_browse Jennolf, Ebba
author_facet Jennolf, Ebba
author_sort Jennolf, Ebba
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description Communication is a significant part of the veterinary profession. A veterinarian does not only need the skills to make the correct diagnosis, but also to communicate effectively for the treatment to be successful. In many cases, treatment plans require the pet owner to change their behavior, which places demands on veterinarians’ ability to motivate clients to behavior change. Veterinarians commonly adopt a paternalistic communication style which may be ineffective and even increase resistance to change in ambivalent clients. In contrast to paternalism, Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based collaboration centered counseling style aiming to strengthen a person’s inner motivation and commitment to change. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which, and in what way, Swedish small animal veterinarians, without previous training or knowledge of the method, spontaneously use MI in their communication with dog owners regarding dental home care in dogs. Audi-recorded role-play calls between eight veterinarians and a professional actor were coded by MIC Lab AB using Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity 4.2.1 (MITI 4.2.1), a behavioral coding system developed to evaluate MI-skills. During the conversations, the actor played an owner of a dog diagnosed with periodontitis. The veterinarians’ task was to motivate the dog owner to start brushing his dog’s teeth daily. From the coding protocols, global scores of four variables on a five-point scale, and behavior counts of ten verbal behaviors were obtained. The results were presented as mean ± standard deviation. The veterinarians’ consultation approaches were predominantly characterized by Giving information, Persuasion, and Questions. In general, the veterinarians made few attempts to involve or affirm the dog owner, and none emphasized the dog owner’s autonomy. The veterinarians had the majority of the speaking time and dominated the conversations, while the dog owner had a more passive role. The results of the present study indicate that Swedish small animal veterinarians spontaneously use MI to a very small extent in consultations with dog owners regarding dental home care for dogs. Based on the results and the previous research that has shown MI to be an effective way to help people change their behavior, there are many reasons to consider implementing MI in veterinary practice.
format H3
id RepoSLU16505
institution Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
language Inglés
publishDate 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher SLU/Dept. of Clinical Sciences (until 231231)
publisherStr SLU/Dept. of Clinical Sciences (until 231231)
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spelling RepoSLU165052022-01-27T00:15:05Z Small animal veterinarians’ communication with pet owners from av Motivational Interviewing (MI) perspective Smådjursveterinärers djurägarkommunikation med avseende på Motiverande samtal (MI) Jennolf, Ebba motivation dog owner pet owner advisor-client dental home care tooth brushing Communication is a significant part of the veterinary profession. A veterinarian does not only need the skills to make the correct diagnosis, but also to communicate effectively for the treatment to be successful. In many cases, treatment plans require the pet owner to change their behavior, which places demands on veterinarians’ ability to motivate clients to behavior change. Veterinarians commonly adopt a paternalistic communication style which may be ineffective and even increase resistance to change in ambivalent clients. In contrast to paternalism, Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based collaboration centered counseling style aiming to strengthen a person’s inner motivation and commitment to change. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which, and in what way, Swedish small animal veterinarians, without previous training or knowledge of the method, spontaneously use MI in their communication with dog owners regarding dental home care in dogs. Audi-recorded role-play calls between eight veterinarians and a professional actor were coded by MIC Lab AB using Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity 4.2.1 (MITI 4.2.1), a behavioral coding system developed to evaluate MI-skills. During the conversations, the actor played an owner of a dog diagnosed with periodontitis. The veterinarians’ task was to motivate the dog owner to start brushing his dog’s teeth daily. From the coding protocols, global scores of four variables on a five-point scale, and behavior counts of ten verbal behaviors were obtained. The results were presented as mean ± standard deviation. The veterinarians’ consultation approaches were predominantly characterized by Giving information, Persuasion, and Questions. In general, the veterinarians made few attempts to involve or affirm the dog owner, and none emphasized the dog owner’s autonomy. The veterinarians had the majority of the speaking time and dominated the conversations, while the dog owner had a more passive role. The results of the present study indicate that Swedish small animal veterinarians spontaneously use MI to a very small extent in consultations with dog owners regarding dental home care for dogs. Based on the results and the previous research that has shown MI to be an effective way to help people change their behavior, there are many reasons to consider implementing MI in veterinary practice. SLU/Dept. of Clinical Sciences (until 231231) 2021 H3 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/16505/
spellingShingle motivation
dog owner
pet owner
advisor-client
dental home care
tooth brushing
Jennolf, Ebba
Small animal veterinarians’ communication with pet owners from av Motivational Interviewing (MI) perspective
title Small animal veterinarians’ communication with pet owners from av Motivational Interviewing (MI) perspective
title_full Small animal veterinarians’ communication with pet owners from av Motivational Interviewing (MI) perspective
title_fullStr Small animal veterinarians’ communication with pet owners from av Motivational Interviewing (MI) perspective
title_full_unstemmed Small animal veterinarians’ communication with pet owners from av Motivational Interviewing (MI) perspective
title_short Small animal veterinarians’ communication with pet owners from av Motivational Interviewing (MI) perspective
title_sort small animal veterinarians’ communication with pet owners from av motivational interviewing (mi) perspective
topic motivation
dog owner
pet owner
advisor-client
dental home care
tooth brushing