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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Humanities and Social Sciences
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1401290
This article is part of the Research Topic Veterinary Public Health: Veterinary Medicine’s Current Challenges in a Globalised World View all 9 articles

Veterinary support staff knowledge and perceptions of antimicrobial drug use, resistance, and stewardship in the United States

Provisionally accepted
Lauren Sandell Lauren Sandell Daniel D. Taylor Daniel D. Taylor *Elaine Scallan Walter Elaine Scallan Walter
  • Colorado Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence​, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Antimicrobial drug use (AMU) in veterinary medicine may contribute to antimicrobial resistant (AMR) infections in both animals and people. Efforts to improve AMU in companion animal medicine are underway and should include all members of the veterinary team, including veterinary support staff. Our objective was to describe knowledge and attitudes regarding AMU, AMR, and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in companion animal medicine among veterinary support staff professionals in the United States using an anonymous, online questionnaire. Additionally, we sought to explore veterinary support staff perceptions of their role in the antimicrobial drug (AMD) prescribing process. Veterinary technicians, nurses, assistants, client care representatives, and hospital managers (n=337) considered AMR a global concern (83.4%), and 40% reported receiving AMR education from their employer. Few (18.3%) were aware of AMS, with only 6.4% indicating that their clinic had an AMS program. Frequent involvement in the AMD prescribing process was reported (43.4%), but only 19.7% perceived involvement with AMS interventions. Approximately one-third of participants (34.9%) said that advice regarding the need for AMDs was routinely provided by staff to pet owners prior to veterinary consultation. Participants estimated that 82.6% of all AMD prescriptions were filled at the clinic as opposed to an outside pharmacy. Given their direct involvement in the AMD prescribing process and frequent interactions with pet owners, AMS should be emphasized to all veterinary staff. Involving support staff in AMS interventions is necessary to improve AMU in companion animal medicine.

    Keywords: antibiotic resistance, Antibiotic use, Stewardship, Veterinary staff, companion animals

    Received: 27 Mar 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sandell, Taylor and Scallan Walter. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Daniel D. Taylor, Colorado Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence​, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, 80045, Colorado, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.