Effect of veterinarian-client-patient interactions on client adherence to dentistry and surgery recommendations in companion-animal practice.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the relationship between veterinarian-client-patient interactions and client adherence to dental and surgery recommendations and to test the a priori hypotheses that appointment-specific client satisfaction and relationship-centered care are positively associated with client adherence.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
A subsample of 19 companion-animal veterinarians and 83 clients from a larger observational study consisting of 20 randomly recruited veterinarians and a convenience sample of 350 clients from eastern Ontario.


METHODS
Videotaped veterinarian-client-patient interactions containing a dentistry recommendation, surgery recommendation, or both were selected for inclusion from the larger sample of interactions coded with the Roter interaction analysis system. Client adherence was measured by evaluating each patient's medical record approximately 6 months after the videotaped interaction. The clarity of the recommendation, appointment-specific client-satisfaction score, and relationship-centered care score were compared between adhering and nonadhering clients.


RESULTS
Among the 83 veterinarian-client-patient interactions, 25 (30%) clients adhered to a dentistry recommendation, surgery recommendation, or both. The odds for adherence were 7 times as great for clients who received a clear recommendation, compared with clients who received an ambiguous recommendation from their veterinarian. Moreover, adhering clients were significantly more satisfied as measured after the interview. Interactions resulting in client adherence also had higher scores for relationship-centered care than did interactions leading to nonadherence.


CONCLUSIONS
Veterinarian use of a relationship-centered care approach, characterized as a collaborative partnership between a veterinarian and a client with provision of clear recommendations and effective communication of the rationale for the recommendations, has positive implications for client adherence.
Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Noureen
N
Kanji
Jason B
JB
Coe
Cindy L
CL
Adams
Jane R
JR
Shaw
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003813:Dentistry / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D010358:Patient Participation; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013522:Surgery, Veterinary / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D013997:Time Factors; D018634:Veterinarians / Q000523:psychology*; D014743:Videotape Recording