Assessing pet owners' knowledge and comprehension of veterinary medical terminology.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Veterinary communication plays a key role in client satisfaction, patient outcomes and clinician wellbeing. Communication assessment tools can help to facilitate improvement strategies.

Methods

Over a 5-month period, pet owners attending a small animal hospital were asked to complete a survey assessing their understanding of commonly used veterinary terms and phrases, either online or in paper format. Scores were used to identify areas requiring improvement and investigate the effect of demographic characteristics on owner understanding.

Results

A total of 378 completed questionnaires was received. Over 97% of owners rated the quality of veterinary communication as good or moderate to good. However, approximately one-fifth believed that communication could

SUBMITTER: Piazza C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12047061 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature