ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.

Sec. Veterinary Humanities and Social Sciences

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1539811

Centering Community Voices: Advancing Health Equity for People & Pets in Los Angeles County Through Community-Based Participatory Research

Provisionally accepted
Celeste MoralesCeleste Morales1Miguel RuelasMiguel Ruelas1Terryl DaluzTerryl Daluz2Elizabeth AnalcoElizabeth Analco3Nicole VeraNicole Vera3Janet RiveraJanet Rivera4Megan CovingtonMegan Covington1Sloane M. HawesSloane M. Hawes1*
  • 1Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE), Baltimore, United States
  • 2Loving Paws Inc., Los Angeles, CA, United States
  • 3Communities for a Better Environment, Los Angeles, CA, United States
  • 4Independent Researcher, Los Angeles, CA, United States

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Background: Pets are increasingly seen as members of the family unit in U.S. households. To advance health equity and improve health service providers' understanding of how to best support pet owners, this study aimed to understand the priorities and barriers to human and companion animal (pet) well-being services and resources in Los Angeles County, CA, USA.Methods: A community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach was used to conduct five semi-structured focus groups in May 2024 with 27 pet owners in Los Angeles County, CA, USA. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach.Results: Several themes for improving health services for people and pets were identified, including: understanding community-specific priorities for people and pets in Los Angeles County; addressing barriers to services and information for people and pets; addressing the need for affordable pet inclusive housing and tenants rights; and addressing the need for improved access to pet inclusive green spaces and environmental justice. The participants shared about the importance of mutual aid and collective care when faced with a lack of access to services.Discussion: These findings can be used across health services to inform the development of equitable, accessible, and community-specific solutions that improve the quality of life for both people and their pets in Los Angeles County, CA, USA.

Keywords: Pets, health equity, Housing, environmental justice, Trauma-informed care

Received: 25 Feb 2025; Accepted: 05 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Morales, Ruelas, Daluz, Analco, Vera, Rivera, Covington and Hawes. 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: Sloane M. Hawes, Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE), Baltimore, 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.

Supplementary Material