We call for unified action to boost support for contextualised care

Organisations and individuals across the veterinary sector are being encouraged to unite to support veterinary teams and pet owners to achieve contextualised care – care that is adapted to the circumstances of each animal, its owner and wider factors.  

We have launched a new report revealing the findings of the first major research project on how contextualised care can be delivered and supported in practice.  

The research collected insights from more than 1,000 veterinary team members and dog and cat owners. It found a groundswell of support for contextualised care, with strong agreement about the benefits of this approach for improving trust between pet owners and vet teams and the quality of care. 

The research found that more than half of veterinary professionals experienced barriers to contextualised care, such as a lack of continuity of care, difficulty communicating costs and feeling discomfort when not providing “gold standard” care. Standardised protocols and financial targets, as well as fear of regulatory scrutiny, complaints and clinical failure, were also described as getting in the way of contextualised care being delivered. 

For pet owners – who reported prioritising quality of life for their pet above everything else – barriers centred around the emotional aspects of making decisions about care. Pet owners reported feeling emotional when their pet is unwell, and guilt when unable to afford all the treatment options. Most pet owners would like to see more reliable online information about different diagnosis and treatment options and called for more transparency about costs.  

The report, How to achieve contextualised care: insights from the veterinary sector and pet owners, sets out what support is needed – and what success would look like – in five broad areas:  

• Professional leadership: a culture of contextualised care should be fostered across the veterinary sector, recognising it as the most appropriate way to deliver veterinary care.  
  Veterinary education: the knowledge and skills needed to practise contextualised care should be more explicitly embedded in education and training for all team members, in both academic and work-placed learning environments.  
• Practice support: active steps should be taken to ensure that veterinary practices have the systems, support and team culture in place to enable contextualised care.  
  Evidence and research: better data and research on outcomes for treatment pathways should be developed to support veterinary teams and pet owners to make informed decisions about care.  
• Pet owner empowerment: pet owners should be empowered with independent, trusted information and resources to support them to make informed, guilt-free decisions about their animal’s care.  

Sally Everitt, RCVS Knowledge Clinical Lead for Evidence, says: “It’s been so important to bring together a range of perspectives from a large number of veterinary team members and pet owners to inform these recommendations. The evidence base around the barriers and facilitators for contextualised care has been scant and we hope that our new research provides an evidence base that will help organisations and practices to support all vet teams to deliver care that is adapted to each animal, its owner and the wider context.” 

Katie Mantell, RCVS Knowledge Chief Executive Officer, adds: “The strength of support for the benefits of contextualised care for animals, owners and veterinary teams has been striking. There is now an opportunity for the veterinary community to pull together to build on the good contextualised care already being delivered to embed a contextualised care approach to all veterinary care.  

“At RCVS Knowledge, we’re committed to working with everyone across the veterinary sector, and with pet owners, to support the translation of these recommendations into actions.”   

The full report and the roadmap summarising the recommendations of the report can be found on our website.