Cross-sectional study of physical activity, dietary habits, and mental health of veterinary students after lifting of COVID-19 pandemic measures.

Mental illness is an important public health concern in veterinary students. Recent literature has demonstrated a negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on veterinary students' mental health. Little literature to date has evaluated the mental health of veterinary students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic after most pandemic measures have been lifted. The objective of this study was to describe physical activity, diet, and mental health in veterinary students after pandemic measures were lifted. A secondary objective was to examine the association between depression symptoms and exposure factors in this cohort of veterinary students. In a cross-sectional study, veterinary students (n = 487) at a public university received an online survey with questions regarding their physical activity, diet, stress, and self-rated symptoms across 11 mental health domains. Logistic regression was used to quantify the association between exposure factors and depression symptoms. One-hundred and twelve students completed the survey. Sixty-three (56%) respondents met the criteria for concern within the mental health domain of depression, 75 (67%) for anxiety, and 16 (14%) for suicidal ideation. Fourth year students had the lowest weekly vigorous physical activity (median 0.5 hours). The odds of self-reported depression symptoms were 8 times lower in students engaged in high levels of vigorous exercise compared to students engaged in low levels, after controlling for number of years in the program (p = 0.02). Mental health concerns were high in this group of veterinary students.

Awareness, perceived relevance, and acceptance of large animal hospital surveillance and infection control practices by referring veterinarians and clients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess awareness, perceived relevance, and acceptance of surveillance and infection control practices at a large animal referral hospital among referring veterinarians and clients who sent horses to the facility for veterinary care. DESIGN: Survey. SAMPLE: 57 referring veterinarians and 594 clients. PROCEDURES: A 15-question survey targeting Salmonella enterica as an important pathogen of interest in horses was sent to clients who sent ≥ 1 horse to the University of Florida Large Animal Hospital for veterinary care during July 1, 2007, through July 1, 2011, and to veterinarians who had referred horses to the same hospital prior to July 1, 2011. Responses were summarized with descriptive statistics. The χ(2) test and the Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to examine associations among variables of interest. RESULTS: Survey response rates were low (57/467 [12%] for veterinarians and 594/3,095 [19%] for clients). Significantly more (35/56 [63%]) veterinarians than clients (227/585 [39%]) were aware that the hospital operates a surveillance and infection control program. Most veterinarians (56/57 [98%]) and clients (554/574 [97%]) indicated that sampling and testing of horses to detect Salmonella shedding in feces at admission and during hospitalization was justified. In addition, on a scale of 1 (not important) to 10 (very important), veterinarians and clients indicated it was very important (median score, 10 [interquartile range, 8 to 10] for both groups) that a referral hospital operates a surveillance and infection control program. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Survey results indicated that awareness of hospital surveillance and infection control practices was higher among veterinarians than clients, and these practices were considered relevant and well-accepted among participant veterinarians and clients.

Education of global veterinarians.

In 2003, the University of Florida (UF) College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) created an Office of International Programs (OIP) in response to one of ten initiatives of the UF Strategic Plan: internationalization of the curriculum. The OIP has developed coursework that provides students with an opportunity for international exposure during the veterinary curriculum at three levels. In Level 1 (on campus) students can participate in a seminar series in global health: www.ufglobalhealth.org. This is an elective course offered to professional students at the UF Health Science Center (Dentistry, Medicine, Pharmacy, Public Health, and Veterinary Medicine). In Level 2 (abroad), students can participate in structured study abroad programs under the supervision of UF faculty and international scholars from collaborative institutions abroad. In Level 3 (on campus and abroad), students can participate in a certificate program in international veterinary medicine. This is a 15-credit program, parallel to the veterinary curriculum. By offering courses on campus and abroad, we want to empower the curriculum with a global perspective of the veterinary profession, as well as with a humanist education that can help students recognize the importance of respect for cultural differences and the reasons for different degrees of development and growth in the world. In addition, this paper presents the need for veterinary medicine and other disciplines in the health sciences to communicate with other disciplines in the social sciences and natural sciences to create development practitioners equipped with cross-disciplinary knowledge and skills needed to formulate, implement and evaluate solutions aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty and disease in low income societies. Finally, this paper makes a call to the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education to assess the need to recognize the importance of internationalization of the veterinary curriculum as a key standard for accreditation of colleges or schools of veterinary medicine.

Evaluation of horseshoe characteristics and high-speed exercise history as possible risk factors for catastrophic musculoskeletal injury in thoroughbred racehorses.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate horseshoe characteristics and high-speed exercise history as risk factors for catastrophic musculoskeletal injury in Thoroughbred racehorses. ANIMALS: 377 horses (37,529 race starts). PROCEDURES: Shoe characteristics included material, toe grab height, heel traction device, pads, and rim shoes. Racing variables were obtained from a computerized database. Forty-three horses that had a musculoskeletal injury and then failed to race or train for 6 months (cases) and 334 noninjured horses from the same race in which a horse was injured (controls) were compared regarding risk factors. RESULTS: Overall, 98% of race starts were associated with aluminum shoes, 85% with toe grabs, 32% with pads, and 12% with rims on forelimb horseshoes. Among 43 horses with musculoskeletal injury, sex (geldings), an extended interval since last race, and reduced exercise during the 30 or 60 days preceding injury were risk factors for catastrophic injury. Odds of injury in racehorses with toe grabs on front shoes were 1.5 times the odds of injury in horses without toe grabs, but this association was not significant (95% confidence interval, 0.5 to 4.1). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that horses that return to racing after an extended period of reduced exercise are at high risk of catastrophic musculoskeletal injury. Results regarding the use of toe grabs as a possible risk factor for catastrophic injury were inconclusive because the probability of declaring (in error) that use of toe grabs was associated with an increased risk of musculoskeletal injury (eg, odds ratio > 1.0) was 38%.