| dc.description.abstract | Abstract
Background and objective: Objective gait analysis (OGA) is gradually becoming a standard procedure in equine clinics. It is not fully clear why veterinarians decide to work or not to work with OGA. The main objective of this study was to identify and describe current users and non-users of OGA and gain in-depth information about their opinions and experiences with OGA. With this it was aimed to determine what properties of OGA make that a clinic does or does not choose to use this technique and why.
Method: Data from current users and non-users of OGA in the clinical situation (n=72) was obtained through the performance of a combined qualitative and quantitative questionnaire using Qualtrics® spread among veterinarians via Facebook and LinkedIn.
Results: The results of the questionnaire suggested there were typical characteristics for both users and non-users. Furthermore, the overall opinion of users was in general more positive than of non-users. Moreover, both users and non-users respectively positively experienced and recognized the added value and increased objectivity. Most often negatively experienced were cost, practicability and usability.
Conclusions and clinical significance: This study shows that the main positive properties of OGA are added value and increased objectivity and negative properties are cost, practicability and usability. These properties of OGA make that a clinic decides either to use OGA or not. Both quantitative and qualitative research aiming to identify and describe current users and non-users of OGA are still in its infancy. Our current study seems promising and can potentially improve equine health and performance in the future with the use of techniques for OGA. | |
