Advancing antimicrobial stewardship in companion animal veterinary medicine: a qualitative study on perceptions and solutions to a One Health problem.

Objective: The term antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is used to describe the coordinated efforts and programs required to sustain the clinical efficacy of antimicrobials and slow the development of antimicrobial resistance. However, companion animal veterinarians are provided with few "cage-side" resources to achieve these goals. The aims of our study were to understand the current perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of AMS among companion animal veterinarians and to source technology-based solutions that reduce barriers to judicious antimicrobial drug prescribing.

Procedures: 6 focus groups were conducted via a teleconference platform. The focus group recordings were transcribed and coded thematically using a grounded theory approach and inductive coding.

Results: A total of 25 companion animal veterinarians participated in 6, 1-hour focus groups. Two themes emerged from the data: (1) Veterinarians feel that AMS is important and understand the principles of AMS, but experience barriers to practicing judicious AMD use principles. (2) Veterinarians agree that technology can promote AMS, but express that a tool needs to support their prescribing decisions, provide accurate and concise stewardship information, and be integrated into the existing workflow.

Clinical Relevance: For an AMS technology tool to be successful in improving AMS in companion animal medicine, veterinarians need centralized information on antimicrobial use, improved access to geographical AMR patterns, and communication support with clients and their hospital teams.