12/11/2025
🔬 Research Findings: 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬: 𝐀 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞-𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐭
Our research team recruited 41 veterinarians across Singapore to examine how shared decision-making (SDM) is associated with appropriate antibiotic prescribing for pet cats and dogs, and what are the factors that would promote SDM.
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
- The effectiveness of SDM in promoting appropriate antibiotic prescribing appears to be condition-specific in vet clinics.
- Vets who 1) perceived that their vet clinic values the prioritisation of pet owner satisfaction over appropriate antibiotic prescribing, 2) had the capacity to build relationships and communicate with owners on antibiotic prescribing, and 3) believed in collaborative communication and SDM with owners on antibiotic prescribing, were more likely to engage in SDM.
- Overall, aligning AMR-related values between vet clinics and vets to enable effective communication with pet owners can promote SDM, potentially driving appropriate antibiotic prescribing for pet cats and dogs subsequently.
𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
This research sheds light on a unique antibiotic stewardship approach in vet clinics. Encouraging the prioritisation of owner experience and satisfaction could yield an indirect benefit of driving effective communication with owners to promote SDM on antibiotic prescribing.
Better time and resource planning could allow vets to have the capacity to build relationships and communicate with owners on antibiotic prescribing, hence promoting SDM.
In combination with previous research findings, vets could take initiative in investigating owner’s feeding concerns and delivering training and advice to owners on antibiotic administration methods, to better involve pet owners in discussions related to antibiotic prescribing.
📕: https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14111139
Background: Shared decision-making (SDM) can improve appropriate antibiotic prescribing in human primary care clinics, but little is known about it in the veterinary setting. This study examines the association between SDM and antibiotic prescribing for cats and dogs in veterinary clinics, then dete...
