BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Health Serv.
Sec. Patient Centered Health Systems
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frhs.2025.1620640
This article is part of the Research TopicEnhancing Veterinary Access Through One Health and Interprofessional CollaborationsView all 10 articles
Physician Perceptions and Understanding of Pet Ownership in Healthcare Compliance and Patient Well-being: A One Health Investigation
Provisionally accepted
- 1Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, United States
- 2Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States
- 3Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, United States
- 4Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, United States
- 5Newton Wellesley Hospital, Newton, Massachusetts, United States
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Introduction: Pets contribute positively to human mental and physical health outcomes but can also impose financial obligations and personal responsibilities that may impede pet owners from accessing healthcare services, especially by restricting access to inpatient and long-term care. This preliminary study investigates the complex interplay between pet ownership and healthcare access and compliance through the perspective of physicians, exploring how pets influence their patients' health. Methods: An online survey was designed and distributed to physicians in Massachusetts, USA. The survey collected information about participant demographics and their experiences and beliefs surrounding how pets influence physician-client relationships, healthcare access and compliance, and human-animal interactions. Results: Of 16 physicians surveyed from various specialties, 25% noted that they believe pets can be a barrier to accessing treatment or services among their patients. Many of the participants (56%) reported that they had experienced a patient who declined or resisted recommended treatments or services due to concerns about their pet. The most commonly reported barrier to healthcare was being unable to find pet care. Most participants (63%) agreed that a low or no-cost boarding facility could be an effective solution to address pet-related concerns among their patients. All participants reported that they believe that owning pets has psychosocial benefits. Discussion: Findings from this study indicate that there is a gap in resources available to patients with pet-related concerns that may prevent them from accessing healthcare services and that there is a need for more research on the role of pets in healthcare access and compliance.
Keywords: human-animal bond1, pet ownership2, patient-centered care3, healthcare compliance4, communication5, healthcare decision making6
Received: 30 Apr 2025; Accepted: 09 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kipnis, McCobb, Mueller, Gatlin and Armstrong. 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:
Faith Kipnis, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, United States
Megan Kiely Mueller, Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, 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.