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Performed for the Committee on Wellness
At its Winter 2003 meeting, the AVMA Committee on Wellness sought to determine the importance of wellness issues to the AVMA membership, the extent of the impact of wellness issues on members, and awareness of current programs. With a nominal budget available, a small survey of AVMA Convention attendees was suggested
Under the committee's direction, staff from the Communications Division refined a draft survey created by the committee and executed the survey during the 140th AVMA Annual Convention in Denver in July, 2003.
A random sample of 500 Convention attendees was asked to complete a short, two-page, seven question, multiple choice questionnaire. Efforts were made to ensure confidentiality of respondents by allowing for anonymous submission. One hundred and ninety five completed surveys were received and tabulated.
With a response rate of 39 percent, the tabulated answers should be considered representative of the entire population of veterinarians attending the 2003 AVMA Convention in Denver. The anticipated error rate is +/- 4%.
Respondents
Of the 195 respondents, 160 (82 percent) identified themselves as veterinarians. Respondents were allowed to choose more than one choice from among the suggested answers, so overall percentages of respondents will add up to more than 100 percent.
An overwhelming 94.3 percent of all respondents rated wellness issues as important or very important (on a five point scale). Just four of 195 respondents (2.1 percent) rated wellness issues as not important or not important at all.
More than three quarters of respondents (76.4 percent) believe there are not adequate resources available to those in the veterinary community dealing with wellness issues.
Issues
A majority of respondents listed six of the 12 issues in the survey as impacting the veterinary community. Stress and burnout (also listed as "compassion fatigue") was chosen by more then four out of every five respondents (84.6 percent) as a wellness issue that impacts the veterinary community, followed by depression (69.7 percent), anger management (57.9 percent), anxiety disorders (57.4 percent), alcohol abuse (56.9 percent), and drug dependency (52.3 percent). All other answers were chosen by a third of the respondents or less.
An overwhelming majority of respondents had been directly or indirectly impacted by one of the identified wellness issues. Nearly nine out of every ten respondents (87.7 percent) identified having either been personally affected or having a family member or colleague affected by at least one of the wellness issues identified in the survey. The issues most commonly affecting respondents were stress and burnout (66.6 percent) followed by depression (45.6 percent), anxiety disorders (34.9 percent), and anger management (31.8 percent). All other issues listed within the multiple-choice question received less than sixteen percent of the responses.
Awareness
Most respondents were aware of at least some of the resources available for dealing with wellness issues. Slightly more than seventy percent were aware of at least one of the available wellness resources cited in the survey. However, no single resource was cited by a majority of respondents. The most selected choice was seminars at professional meetings (40 percent). The popularity of this choice, however, is probably inflated due to the venue in which the survey was taken. Less than one third of respondents signaled their awareness of any of the other resources.
There is not an overwhelming favorite for delivery of resources to those interested in wellness issues. Toll-free phone lines and web based resources and links were the choice of a majority of respondents (both 54.4 percent). Both choices are unique in that they provide anonymous access to the resources but they are accessed actively. Close behind was seminars at national professional meetings (47.7 %). Again, the popularity of this choice is probably inflated due to the venue in which the survey was taken.
Conclusions
The goals of this survey were to determine the relevance of wellness issues to AVMA members and to assess the association's effectiveness at providing tools or access to resources members might need to deal with those issues.
Wellness issues, as defined within the context of the survey, are significant for respondents. They believe these issues are important to the veterinary community and many respondents have personal experience in dealing with these issues. Respondents overwhelmingly feel inadequate resources are available for dealing with these issues, but awareness of specific programs already in place may play a role in those perceptions.
The most relevant issue for respondents clearly appears to be "compassion fatigue," both in its importance and the direct or indirect experience with it.
The results of this survey are valid only for reflecting the attitudes of Convention attendees. That population does not necessarily reflect the entire AVMA membership. If the committee believes that the attitudes of respondents to this survey could be reflected in the larger population, then additional research is needed to determine the extent of this problem and its potential cures.
Should the committee find similar responses from veterinarians as a whole, then addressing stress and burnout, as well as those wellness issues arising from it, could be a potentially galvanizing issue for the profession.
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