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Caregiver burden in the veterinary dermatology client: comparison to healthy controls and relationship to quality of life
Author(s) -
Spitznagel Mary Beth,
Solc Meghan,
Chapman Kimberly R.,
Updegraff John,
Albers Angela L.,
Carlson Mark D.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
veterinary dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1365-3164
pISSN - 0959-4493
DOI - 10.1111/vde.12696
Subject(s) - medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , veterinary medicine , family medicine , dermatology , nursing
Background Skin disease in companion animals often requires long‐term management which may contribute to caregiver burden in the dermatology client. Hypotheses/Objectives We expected greater caregiver burden in dermatology clients relative to healthy control veterinary clients and that no difference would be present between healthy controls and dermatology clients reporting good skin disease control. Within the dermatology sample, we hypothesized that greater caregiver burden would correlate with client perception of the animal's severity of disease (ASD), animal skin disease quality of life (ASD‐QoL), and client general quality of life (CG‐QoL) and skin disease‐related quality of life (CSD‐QoL). Participants Participants were 358 dog owners, including veterinary dermatology clients (n = 152) and healthy general veterinary control clients (n = 206). Methods and materials Cross‐sectional online assessments were completed for client caregiver burden (both samples) and CG‐QoL, CSD‐QoL, ASD‐QoL and ASD (dermatology sample only). Results Caregiver burden was greater in dermatology clients overall relative to healthy controls ( P < 0.001); it was comparable for those reporting good skin disease control ( P > 0.05). Within the dermatology group, correlations between caregiver burden and CSD‐QoL were high ( r = 0.58; P < 0.001). CG‐QoL was predicted by caregiver burden ( P < 0.001) but not significantly by CSD‐QoL ( P > 0.05). Conclusions and clinical importance In the presence of good skin disease control, caregiver burden in dermatology clients is as low as general veterinary clients with a healthy dog. Understanding client experiences of companion animal skin disease may be optimized by assessing caregiver burden.