Secondary traumatic stress and veterinarians: Human–animal bonds as psychosocial determinants of health.

Abstract

Among health care professionals, veterinarians and veterinarian technicians (VVT) have been largely overlooked in terms of the consequences of preferred coping style, stress management, and care work (e.g., burnout, secondary traumatic stress [STS], and moral distress). STS, often referred to as compassion fatigue, can have serious negative physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual impacts. Although trauma research has begun to shed light on the development of STS as an adverse consequence of care work, a limited understanding exists within the extant literature about the role of other factors such as individual coping style on the development of STS among health care professionals in general, but among veterinarians specifically. This lack of attention on VVT is not surprising when one considers disproportionate lower ranking of veterinarian medicine within the larger medical hierarchy, in which doctors of humans are generally bestowed with greater prestige. Within trauma research, no understanding exists within the extant literature about the relational significance of human-animal bonds in veterinary settings regarding the development of STS, and how they may function as social determinants of health, impacting both professional and organizational well-being. This discussion article seeks to add clarity to the issue as well as challenge current perceptions of veterinary work, its health consequences on VVT, and anthropocentrism in research more generally. Implications for education and research are provided.

Veterinary Technicians and Occupational Burnout

“…Although exact figures of the percentage of medical professionals suffering from burnout vary, most estimates exceed 50%, presenting a public health concern that impacts not only the professional, but patients, coworkers, family members and health care organizations (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6). Although fewer studies have been conducted pertaining to veterinary professionals, they have reached similar conclusions; namely that burnout and compassion fatigue are common among this population and can lead to serious negative physical, and psychological impact (7).…”

“…In addition, a loss of autonomy and decreased control over the work environment have been found to be common factors leading to burnout (15). Factors found to contribute to burnout in veterinarians include excessive workload and work hours, on-call duties, limited resources, workplace conflicts, and the unique challenges that come with euthanasia (7,(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). Additional stressors for veterinary professionals include unrealistic expectations from pet owners, situations where they need to balance the affordability of treatment with the provision of high quality care, and low income paired with high debt load (12, [21][22][23][24].…”

Exposure to animal suffering, adult attachment styles, and professional quality of life in a sample of Italian veterinarians

“…The long-term effect of occupational stressful factors on veterinarians' well-being has been described in a range of prior literature, in terms of secondary traumatic stress (e.g., [24]), secondary victimization (e.g., [25]), vicarious traumatization (e.g., [26]), moral distress (e.g., [27]), burnout (e.g., [28]), and compassion fatigue (e.g., [29]). While each of these constructs has specific theoretical and clinical implications, they all encompass the experiences of professionals dealing with clients' suffering or emotional distress.…”

“…The scientific literature has explored extensively the trio of factors consisting of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among many categories of health-care providers, including physicians, nurses, and trauma therapists [ 59 – 62 ]. By comparison, there are fewer studies dealing with professional quality of life in veterinarians [ 24 ], and to the best of our knowledge, no studies have been conducted on Italian veterinarians to date. Furthermore, a certain number of studies gave support to some contextual sources of stress, such as long working hours or being on call [ 63 – 65 ], showing higher levels of veterinarians’ compassion fatigue and burnout in comparison with the general population (e.g., [ 29 , 42 , 45 ]).…”

“…Furthermore, a certain number of studies gave support to some contextual sources of stress, such as long working hours or being on call [ 63 – 65 ], showing higher levels of veterinarians’ compassion fatigue and burnout in comparison with the general population (e.g., [ 29 , 42 , 45 ]). However, a limited consensus has been reached within the literature about the role of other factors, such as individual psychological variables, which may foster or restrain professional quality of life among health-care providers in general and among veterinarians specifically [ 24 ]. Nevertheless, within the same organization and occupation, some professionals show a low professional quality of life, whereas others do not, suggesting that individual psychological variables might play a key role.…”