Predicting caregiver burden in general veterinary clients: Contribution of companion animal clinical signs and problem behaviors

•Companion animal clinical signs and problem behaviors correlate with client caregiver burden.•Frequency of such problems strongly predicted client caregiver burden.•Modifiable client risk factors for burden included client reaction to the animal’s problems and client sense of control. Caregiver bur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The veterinary journal (1997) 2018-06, Vol.236, p.23-30
Main Authors: Spitznagel, M.B., Jacobson, D.M., Cox, M.D., Carlson, M.D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Diseases - psychology
Animals
Burden
Caregiver
Caregivers - psychology
Case-Control Studies
Cats
Client
Cost of Illness
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dogs
Humans
Ownership
Pet Problem Severity Scale
Pets
Problem Behavior
Psychosocial
Stress, Psychological - etiology
Veterinarians
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Summary:•Companion animal clinical signs and problem behaviors correlate with client caregiver burden.•Frequency of such problems strongly predicted client caregiver burden.•Modifiable client risk factors for burden included client reaction to the animal’s problems and client sense of control. Caregiver burden, found in many clients with a chronically or terminally ill companion animal, has been linked to poorer psychosocial function in the client and greater utilization of non-billable veterinary services. To reduce client caregiver burden, its determinants must first be identified. This study examined if companion animal clinical signs and problem behaviors predict veterinary client burden within broader client- and patient-based risk factor models. Data were collected in two phases. Phase 1 included 238 companion animal owners, including those with a sick companion animal (n=119) and matched healthy controls (n=119) recruited online. Phase 2 was comprised of 602 small animal general veterinary hospital clients (n=95 with a sick dog or cat). Participants completed cross-sectional online assessments of caregiver burden, psychosocial resources (social support, active coping, self-mastery), and an item pool of companion animal clinical signs and problem behaviors. Several signs/behaviors correlated with burden, most prominently: weakness, appearing sad/depressed or anxious, appearing to have pain/discomfort, change in personality, frequent urination, and excessive sleeping/lethargy. Within patient-based risk factors, caregiver burden was predicted by frequency of the companion animal’s signs/behaviors (P
ISSN:1090-0233
1532-2971
DOI:10.1016/j.tvjl.2018.04.007