Providing culturally responsive end-of-life care for pets

Delivering respectful and responsive care to clients from diverse backgrounds takes on even greater importance when making end-of-life care decisions for pets.

Veterinary professionals should communicate in ways that support clients and their beliefs that stem from their culture, religion, and other aspects of their identity, explained Melody Martinez, president of the Multicultural VMA (MCVMA).

On June 23, Martinez presented the session “Culturally Responsive End-of-Life Care” at AVMA Convention 2024, held June 21-25 in Austin, Texas.

She said it’s important to communicate in a way that is accessible and responsive to the client’s needs, particularly concerning euthanasia of pets.

“We are the creators and holders of that experience for our clients,” said Martinez, who is a certified veterinary technician. “We want people to be present with their animals. We want them to have as good of an experience as they can in that situation.”

Culturally responsive care

Culturally responsive care is the ability of health care professionals to deliver safe, respectful, and responsible care concerning the health beliefs and cultural needs of their patients or clients.

Practitioners should consider how their cultural, spiritual, and religious beliefs influence their views on end-of-life care. Research in human medicine has shown that cultural and religious beliefs affect decision making when it comes to palliative and end-of-life care.

Acquiring cultural knowledge about clients and the communities a veterinary practice interacts with can help guide these interactions and identify where there may be different opinions, beliefs, or attitudes about their pet’s care.

“Part of culturally responsive care requires not making assumptions about your client's beliefs based on their race and ethnicity,” Martinez said.

For example, some Buddhists may be opposed to euthanizing a pet. However, someone shouldn’t assume that all Asian Americans are Buddhist.

Cultural sensitivity and skills

Practicing culturally responsive care enables health care providers to effectively manage cultural differences in the workplace with clients and colleagues. Studies have shown that taking this approach with patients can mean more effective communication as well as increased care seeking, compliance, perceived quality of care, and patient and family satisfaction.

Martinez outlined the following actionable steps for culturally responsive care:

• Add an optional line to any intake forms inquiring about religious or spiritual affiliations. If a client decides to share this information, it can help begin a discussion about how their spiritual beliefs impact decisions about their pet's care.
• When having discussions about quality of life, palliative care, or euthanasia, providers can ask open-ended questions such as, "Are there any religious, spiritual, or cultural practices that you hold would be good for me to know so that I and my team might provide a respectful experience for you during this time and for your grieving process?" Open-ended questions create an opportunity for the client to express whatever may be most supportive to them.
• Do not use language during the process of euthanasia that connotes a specific spiritual or religious affiliation unless the client already shared their spiritual beliefs. For example, saying something like, “He has his wings,’” may not be respectful to someone who isn't Christian.
• Be mindful of what imagery or iconography is displayed in euthanasia rooms. Often the items and images in these rooms suggest affiliation or assumptions that all clients hold dominant religious, spiritual, or cultural beliefs. Not every client is comforted by crosses, angels, and cloud motifs.