WSAVA animal welfare survey: information sources used by companion animal veterinarians

Abstract

Introduction: Veterinarians are expected to have expertise not only in the maintenance of health and the treatment and prevention of disease in animals, but also in matters relating to animal welfare. Issues surrounding animal welfare have become of increasing importance to veterinarians, governments, and society worldwide. How veterinarians select their resources to answer their questions regarding the various animal welfare issues may differ as a result of geographic, cultural, socioeconomic, and other factors. Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the information sources used by companion animal veterinarians worldwide regarding the following topics: client communication, animal welfare, surgical techniques, human animal bond, dentistry, animal behavior, zoonotic disease/epidemiology. Methods: For this purpose, a global survey containing among others the aforementioned topics was distributed via SurveyMonkey® in multiple languages. The multiple response questions contain the following answer categories: ‘local continuing education’, ‘veterinary journals’, ‘veterinary conferences/meetings’, ‘internet’ and ‘I don’t search for information on this topic’. Results: The distribution of survey responses differed by region. In general, the most frequently used information source in Europe, North America, South America and Oceania was veterinary conferences/meetings, whereas in Asia and Africa it was internet. The type of information source used was not only different across regions but also depended on the topic. Depending on the topic and region there were also gender differences. Conclusions: This survey-based study showed that veterinary practitioners prefer different types of information sources to answer their questions, depending on the topic, geographic region and gender.