Experiences of End-of-Life Decision-Making in Equine Veterinary and Charity Teams
Veterinary and charity teams are frequently involved in equine end-of-life decisions. These can cause ethical dilemmas and emotional burdens and complicate communication with owners. Semi-structured focus groups explored experiences of making decisions about end-of-life care and euthanasia at three...
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/5/678 |
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| author | Amelia Cameron Megan Geldard Tim Mair Gary England John Burford Sarah Freeman Kristian Pollock Eleanor Wilson |
| author_facet | Amelia Cameron Megan Geldard Tim Mair Gary England John Burford Sarah Freeman Kristian Pollock Eleanor Wilson |
| author_sort | Amelia Cameron |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Veterinary and charity teams are frequently involved in equine end-of-life decisions. These can cause ethical dilemmas and emotional burdens and complicate communication with owners. Semi-structured focus groups explored experiences of making decisions about end-of-life care and euthanasia at three UK equine veterinary practices and one charity. There were 26 participants in a mix of roles. Inductive coding was conducted during thematic analysis. Major themes generated were ‘Equine Welfare’, ‘Relationships’, ‘Decision-Making’, and ‘Emotional Toll and Coping Strategies’. Communication, finances, and chronic vs. acute cases were key issues featured within multiple themes. The individual horse’s welfare was the participants’ priority during decision-making. However, there were barriers to coming to a decision about treatment or euthanasia, and conflict caused by these barriers could detrimentally affect participants’ mental health. Preferred style of decision-making varied depending on the situation. Examples given included shared decision-making, participants steering the decision, and attempts by participants or owners to shift decisional responsibility onto the other party. Some owners sought additional input into decisions from veterinary nurses and receptionists. Participants found aspects of their roles emotionally challenging. This could be mitigated by supportive relationships and communication with colleagues. Involving veterinary team members in varying roles in end-of-life care planning and euthanasia decision-making with owners contributes a range of skills and expertise and helps to share the burden of responsibility. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ece83c1212bb4d62aa7f8a1ce7863ab5 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj-art-ece83c1212bb4d62aa7f8a1ce7863ab52025-08-20T02:52:48ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-02-0115567810.3390/ani15050678Experiences of End-of-Life Decision-Making in Equine Veterinary and Charity TeamsAmelia Cameron0Megan Geldard1Tim Mair2Gary England3John Burford4Sarah Freeman5Kristian Pollock6Eleanor Wilson7School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UKSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UKBell Equine Veterinary Clinic, CVS Group Ltd., Mereworth ME18 5GS, UKSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UKSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UKSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UKNottingham Centre for the Advancement of Research into Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care, School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2HA, UKNottingham Centre for the Advancement of Research into Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care, School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2HA, UKVeterinary and charity teams are frequently involved in equine end-of-life decisions. These can cause ethical dilemmas and emotional burdens and complicate communication with owners. Semi-structured focus groups explored experiences of making decisions about end-of-life care and euthanasia at three UK equine veterinary practices and one charity. There were 26 participants in a mix of roles. Inductive coding was conducted during thematic analysis. Major themes generated were ‘Equine Welfare’, ‘Relationships’, ‘Decision-Making’, and ‘Emotional Toll and Coping Strategies’. Communication, finances, and chronic vs. acute cases were key issues featured within multiple themes. The individual horse’s welfare was the participants’ priority during decision-making. However, there were barriers to coming to a decision about treatment or euthanasia, and conflict caused by these barriers could detrimentally affect participants’ mental health. Preferred style of decision-making varied depending on the situation. Examples given included shared decision-making, participants steering the decision, and attempts by participants or owners to shift decisional responsibility onto the other party. Some owners sought additional input into decisions from veterinary nurses and receptionists. Participants found aspects of their roles emotionally challenging. This could be mitigated by supportive relationships and communication with colleagues. Involving veterinary team members in varying roles in end-of-life care planning and euthanasia decision-making with owners contributes a range of skills and expertise and helps to share the burden of responsibility.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/5/678euthanasiamental healthcommunicationshared decision-makingequine welfarevet-client interactions |
| spellingShingle | Amelia Cameron Megan Geldard Tim Mair Gary England John Burford Sarah Freeman Kristian Pollock Eleanor Wilson Experiences of End-of-Life Decision-Making in Equine Veterinary and Charity Teams Animals euthanasia mental health communication shared decision-making equine welfare vet-client interactions |
| title | Experiences of End-of-Life Decision-Making in Equine Veterinary and Charity Teams |
| title_full | Experiences of End-of-Life Decision-Making in Equine Veterinary and Charity Teams |
| title_fullStr | Experiences of End-of-Life Decision-Making in Equine Veterinary and Charity Teams |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experiences of End-of-Life Decision-Making in Equine Veterinary and Charity Teams |
| title_short | Experiences of End-of-Life Decision-Making in Equine Veterinary and Charity Teams |
| title_sort | experiences of end of life decision making in equine veterinary and charity teams |
| topic | euthanasia mental health communication shared decision-making equine welfare vet-client interactions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/5/678 |
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