Communication challenges experienced by veterinary professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic

The COVID‐19 pandemic and associated restrictions have caused major changes in veterinary practice. Utilising a subset of qualitative data from a global survey of 540 veterinarians, veterinary nurses and animal health technicians, we highlight the impact of these changes on communication in veterina...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian Veterinary Journal 2022-01, Vol.100 (1-2), p.79-81
Main Authors: Quain, A, Mullan, S, Ward, MP
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
challenges
Communication
COVID-19
COVID-19 - veterinary
Humans
Pandemics
Pandemics - prevention & control
SARS-CoV-2
Veterinarians
veterinary
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Summary:The COVID‐19 pandemic and associated restrictions have caused major changes in veterinary practice. Utilising a subset of qualitative data from a global survey of 540 veterinarians, veterinary nurses and animal health technicians, we highlight the impact of these changes on communication in veterinary clinical practice. Communication challenges experienced by veterinary team members included lack of face‐to‐face contact with clients; increased difficulty in communicating in general; inability to demonstrate physical examination, diagnostic findings or treatment information to clients; difficulty in communicating while wearing personal protective equipment; increased ‘miscommunication’ and challenges in convincing clients of the importance of pandemic‐associated protocols. These findings suggest a need for veterinary teams to modify and adapt their communication strategies to facilitate effective communication where social distancing and noncontact consultations are required.
ISSN:0005-0423
1751-0813
DOI:10.1111/avj.13125