Risk factors for suicide, attitudes toward mental illness, and practice-related stressors among US veterinarians

Nett, Randall J.; Witte, Tracy K.; Holzbauer, Stacy; Elchos, Brigid L.; Campagnolo, Enzo R.; Musgrave, Karl; Carter, Kris K.; Kurkjian, Katie M.; Vanicek, Cole; O’Leary, Daniel R.; Pride, Kerry; Funk, Renée

doi:10.2460/javma.247.8.945

Cited by 198 publications

(239 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…1 Indeed, the risk of death by suicide among veterinarians across various countries reportedly ranges from 1.7 to 4 times the risk of the general population. 2–4 Additionally, the reported prevalence of major depression in veterinarians ranges from 20% to 66%, 5–7 and a recent study 6 revealed that 9% of a large sample (n = 11,627) of US veterinarians have experienced serious psychological distress, 6 compared with 3.2% of the general US population. 8 In light of the high risks of suicide, depressive symptoms, and psychological distress, the veterinary profession has been identified by both academic and popular media entities as needing more research to identify factors contributing to this profession-wide problem.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…14,15 Considering this relationship between practice-related stressors and depression as well as the disproportionate risks of depressive symptoms, serious psychological distress, and suicide among veterinarians versus the general population, it is important to understand the full range of practice-related stressors experienced by veterinarians that might be contributing to mental health problems across the profession. 6 …”

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confidence: 99%

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Development of a taxonomy of practice-related stressors experienced by veterinarians in the United States

Griek¹,

Clark²,

Witte³

et al. 2018

javma

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OBJECTIVE To develop a comprehensive taxonomy of practice-related stressors experienced by US veterinarians. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE A subset of 1,422 US veterinarians who provided written (vs selected) responses to a question in a previous survey regarding practice-related stressors. PROCEDURES Using grounded theory analysis, 3 researchers inductively analyzed written survey responses concerning respondents’ main practice-related stressors. In 5 iterations, responses were individually coded and categorized, and a final list of practice-related stressor categories and subcategories was iteratively and collaboratively developed until theoretical and analytic saturation of the data was achieved. RESULTS A taxonomy of 15 categories of broad practice-related stressors and 40 subcategories of more specific practice-related stressors was developed. The most common practice-related stressor categories included financial insecurity (n = 289 [20.3%]), client issues (254 [17.9%]), coworker or interpersonal issues (181 [12.7%]), and work-life balance (166 [11.7%]). The most common subcategories were clients unwilling to pay (118 [8.3%]), low income (98 [6.9%]), cost of maintaining practice (56 [3.9%]), and government or state board policies (48 [3.4%]). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE This study provided a comprehensive list of the types of practice-related stressors experienced by US veterinarians, building a foundation for future research into relationships between job stress and mental health in this population. Frequency data on the various stressors provided an initial understanding of factors that might be contributing to high stress rates among US veterinarians.

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confidence: 99%

Development of a taxonomy of practice-related stressors experienced by veterinarians in the United States

Griek¹,

Clark²,

Witte³

et al. 2018

javma

Self Cite

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“…298 Workplaces should also strive to create a safe, supportive environment in which mental health issues are not stigmatized. Shelter veterinarians are at high risk for developing depression, 299 and many spay-neuter veterinarians possess demographic risk factors that may place them at greater risk than other veterinarians for experiencing depression, burnout, compassion fatigue, or suicidal ideation. 299,300 Access to mental health care may be increased by posting information about mental health services, support groups, and suicide hotline numbers in staff areas and by providing flexibility in staff scheduling or duties to accommodate mental health treatment.…”

Section: Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shelter veterinarians are at high risk for developing depression, 299 and many spay-neuter veterinarians possess demographic risk factors that may place them at greater risk than other veterinarians for experiencing depression, burnout, compassion fatigue, or suicidal ideation. 299,300 Access to mental health care may be increased by posting information about mental health services, support groups, and suicide hotline numbers in staff areas and by providing flexibility in staff scheduling or duties to accommodate mental health treatment. Workers may be trained to recognize early signs of stress, compassion fatigue, and depression in themselves and others, and programs should provide a supportive atmosphere and referral to mental health services.…”

Section: Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ 2016 Veterinary Medical Care Guidelines for Spay-Neuter Programs

Griffin¹,

Bushby²,

McCobb³

et al. 2016

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As community efforts to reduce the overpopulation and euthanasia of unwanted and unowned cats and dogs have increased, many veterinarians have increasingly focused their clinical efforts on the provision of spay-neuter services. Because of the wide range of geographic and demographic needs, a wide variety of spay-neuter programs have been developed to increase delivery of services to targeted populations of animals, including stationary and mobile clinics, MASHstyle operations, shelter services, community cat programs, and services provided through private practitioners. In an effort to promote consistent, high-quality care across the broad range of these programs, the Association of Shelter Veterinarians convened a task force of veterinarians to develop veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs. These guidelines consist of recommendations for general patient care and clinical procedures, preoperative care, anesthetic management, surgical procedures, postoperative care, and operations management. They were based on current principles of anesthesiology, critical care medicine, infection control, and surgical practice, as determined from published evidence and expert opinion. They represent acceptable practices that are attainable in spay-neuter programs regardless of location, facility, or type of program. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians envisions that these guidelines will be used by the profession to maintain consistent veterinary medical care in all settings where spay-neuter services are provided and to promote these services as a means of reducing sheltering and euthanasia of cats and dogs.

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“…Also of importance is the emerging literature relating to an increased risk of suicide within animal-related professions, in particular the veterinary profession (Bartram and Baldwin 2010, Skipper and Williams 2012, Nett et al 2015. While this area of study is very relevant in the context of this chapter, the mechanisms underlying a person's propensity to commit suicide are a complete area of study within itself.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational Stress & Compassion Fatigue: The effects on workers in animal-related occupations

Scotney¹

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The study of occupational stress and compassion fatigue in personnel working in animalrelated occupations has gained momentum over the last decade. The impact of these conditions on employee mental wellbeing, workplace productivity and morale is notable and has become more recognised by those who are employed in animal-related occupations. However, there remains incongruence in understanding what is currently termed compassion fatigue and the associated unique contributory factors. Animal-related occupational stress and compassion fatigue are important issues as they can have such a negative impact on people. However, they are largely overlooked in the animal health sector and to date, are very much under researched.There is a need to build a body of evidence-based knowledge in this area and the aims of this thesis are to begin to address gaps in the literature. The overall aim of this thesis was to conduct a number of projects in order to investigate, describe and quantify factors relating to euthanasia induced stress and, occupational stress and distress associated with working in animal-related occupations. Participants included those working as laboratory animal technicians, veterinary nurses and veterinarians, animal shelter employees, animal control officers and ancillary staff such as receptionists, volunteers and foster carers.To initially scope and explore the area of animal-related occupational stress and compassion fatigue, a systematic review of euthanasia in animal care workers was conducted. This review showed that there is a high incidence of occupational stress and euthanasia induced stress in animal health care personnel. Working with animals, and performing euthanasia, can evoke traumatic stress responses and compromise the wellbeing of animal health care employees.To further tease out the context and consequences of euthanasia and occupational stress, a survey which relied on the ProQoL was conducted. This research showed that whilst most people who work in animal-related occupations experience average or above average compassion satisfaction from the work that they do every day, they also report experiencing the negative aspects of caring such as burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Veterinarians and animal research technicians reported the lowest level of compassion satisfaction. A greater risk of burnout was shown by those who had been working in an animal-related occupation for longer and women were reported as facing a greater risk of secondary traumatic stress than men.3 Furthermore, focus group interviews were utilised to capture the highly contextualised, emotive expression of employees in regard to the impact of euthanasia and working in animalrelated occupations. 'Stress and distress' was overwhelmingly identified as a factor most associated with working with animals. Animal attendants and nurses working in animal shelters reported the highest level of stress and distress followed closely by those in management roles in animal shelters and veterinary nurses working in emer...

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Risk factors for suicide, attitudes toward mental illness, and practice-related stressors among US veterinarians

Cited by 198 publications

References 29 publications

Development of a taxonomy of practice-related stressors experienced by veterinarians in the United States

Development of a taxonomy of practice-related stressors experienced by veterinarians in the United States

The Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ 2016 Veterinary Medical Care Guidelines for Spay-Neuter Programs

Occupational Stress & Compassion Fatigue: The effects on workers in animal-related occupations

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