Caregiver burden in the veterinary dermatology client: comparison to healthy controls and relationship to quality of life

Background Skin disease in companion animals often requires long‐term management which may contribute to caregiver burden in the dermatology client. Hypotheses/Objectives We expected greater caregiver burden in dermatology clients relative to healthy control veterinary clients and that no difference would be present between healthy controls and dermatology clients reporting good skin disease control. Within the dermatology sample, we hypothesized that greater caregiver burden would correlate with client perception of the animal's severity of disease (ASD), animal skin disease quality of life (ASD‐QoL), and client general quality of life (CG‐QoL) and skin disease‐related quality of life (CSD‐QoL). Participants Participants were 358 dog owners, including veterinary dermatology clients (n = 152) and healthy general veterinary control clients (n = 206). Methods and materials Cross‐sectional online assessments were completed for client caregiver burden (both samples) and CG‐QoL, CSD‐QoL, ASD‐QoL and ASD (dermatology sample only). Results Caregiver burden was greater in dermatology clients overall relative to healthy controls (P < 0.001); it was comparable for those reporting good skin disease control (P > 0.05). Within the dermatology group, correlations between caregiver burden and CSD‐QoL were high (r = 0.58; P < 0.001). CG‐QoL was predicted by caregiver burden (P < 0.001) but not significantly by CSD‐QoL (P > 0.05). Conclusions and clinical importance In the presence of good skin disease control, caregiver burden in dermatology clients is as low as general veterinary clients with a healthy dog. Understanding client experiences of companion animal skin disease may be optimized by assessing caregiver burden. Résumé Contexte Les dermatoses chez les animaux de compagnie nécessitent souvent une gestion au long cours qui peut contribuer à la lassitude des propriétaires. Hypothèses/Objectifs Nous nous attendons à ce que les propriétaires des patients de dermatologie soient lassés par rapport aux propriétaires de chiens sains contrôles et que nous n'aurons aucune différence entre les sujets sains et les clients de dermatologie rapportant une bonne gestion de la dermatose. Dans l’échantillon de dermatologie, nous supposons que la plus grande charge des soignants est en corrélation avec la perception du client de la sévérité de la maladie de l'animal (ASD), la qualité de vie de l'animal malade (ASD‐QoL) et la qualité de vie générale du client (CD‐QoL) et la qualité de