Introduction

Communication between veterinarians and pet owners is necessary for a good relationship, optimizing patient care and treatment decisions, owner compliance and ultimately improving animal welfare.

The aims of this study were to determine:

 How much information is remembered by pet owners from a veterinary consultation

 Which information is most likely to be memorized

 Which variables influence the quality and quantity of the information recalled

Materials and Methods

In total, 55 pet owners visiting for the first time the Department for Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy at the UCCA at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, with a dog or a cat, were approached by the researcher. They were asked for permission to make a voice recording of their visit and to interview them by telephone a few hours after leaving the clinic to ask them a few questions about their visit. All consultations were performed by the same veterinarian.

Results

The age of the owners ranged from 22 to 81 years; 29% were men and 71% were women. The average recall score was 66.6%. Multivariate analysis showed two significant explanatory variables for recall: age of the owner (p=0.018) and level of education (p=0.031). The older the owner the less recall, and the higher the education the higher the recall.

Conclusion

Age and education of owner are important regarding the amount of information owners can recall. However, this study was done with only one veterinarian, and further studies with multiple veterinarians are needed to see what aspects of communication of the veterinarian will make a difference in recall.