A qualitative study exploring the perceived effects of veterinarians' mental health on provision of care

Megan Campbell; Briana N M Hagen; Basem Gohar; Jeffrey Wichtel; Andria Jones-Bitton

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1064932

A qualitative study exploring the perceived effects of veterinarians' mental health on provision of care

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Feb 7:10:1064932. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1064932. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Megan Campbell¹, Briana N M Hagen¹, Basem Gohar^{1

2}, Jeffrey Wichtel³, Andria Jones-Bitton¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Population Medicine, The University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
² Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health, Sudbury, ON, Canada.
³ Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Veterinary medicine is a rewarding, yet demanding profession with a myriad of occupational stressors that can impact the mental health of veterinarians. Stress, mental health outcomes, and associated risk factors amongst veterinarians have been well-researched. Much less research has investigated how high stress and/or poor mental health can impact veterinarians' provision of care.

Methods: One-on-one research interviews were conducted with 25 veterinarians at a Canadian veterinary conference in July 2016 and verbatim transcripts were produced from the audio recordings. The research team collaboratively analyzed the interviews using thematic analysis.

Results: Five themes described the perceived impacts of high stress and/or poor mental health: perceived negative impacts on interactions with (1) co-workers and (2) clients; (3) reduced concentration; (4) difficulty in decision making; and (5) reduced quality of care.

Discussion: These results highlight the perceived impacts of self-reported high stress and/or poor mental health on veterinary team dynamics, the potential to impact case outcomes, and possibly endanger patient safety. Interventions to help mitigate the impacts of high stress and poor mental health are discussed.

Keywords: mental health; provision of care; stress; veterinarian; veterinary mental health.

Grants and funding

Funding for this project was provided by Ontario Veterinary College Pet Trust, the Department of Population Medicine Graduate Growth Funds, and Ontario Veterinary College Dean's Office.