Creating Evidence Driven Practices to Enhance Human Care Services for Unhoused and Low-Income Pet Owners

Abstract

Background: Seattle Veterinary Outreach, a nonprofit organization providing free and sliding-scale veterinary services to those experiencing homelessness and low-income residents of the Seattle Washington Puget Sound area, began operations in 2019. A key premise of the organization is that offering veterinary services creates a trusting relationship with pet owners that fosters guiding human clients toward obtaining services for their own health and well-being [1]. Pet owners face significant barriers to obtaining care for themselves due to the lack of pet-friendly housing, shelter, and medical care clinics [2]. Methods: To support this vision, SVO partners with human care service providers to co-locate, allowing for pet-friendly access to needed services. Up until now, the decision about partners has been made based on immediate needs, circumstances, and availability. The purpose of this study was to develop a data-driven process that would assist in identifying the type of human care services needed, create a ranking system to assist in securing these services and identify partners that can co-locate with SVO mobile clinics to address human care needs. Relying on data collected by SVO staff and volunteers and incorporating attributes of potential partners into the discussion, a data-driven process for partner outreach was created. Results: A new process was created that is currently in use and will be incorporated into staff responsibilities. Conclusion: The new process offers an opportunity to ensure that the needs of pet owners are being best served.