Contextualised care and the management of sheep lameness

Interest in contextualised care in veterinary medicine is growing. As yet, there has been little explicit research in relation to farm animals. Here we report on findings from six in-depth, online focus groups with UK farmers (n=19) and vets (n=4) exploring sheep lameness management. Transcripts of the focus groups were analysed qualitatively, via a code-book thematic analysis approach. We use the findings to, 1) explore contextualised care for sheep, 2) present evidence of the concept in practice, 3) identify challenges which limit its effectiveness in practice. Much of what is discussed as contextualised care was already done as part of vets’ good practice and due to the need to reprofessionalise their role in response to a changing industry. The work vets do was as much to do with caring for farmers as it was caring for animals. Vets carefully considered farmers’ lives, farming setups and systems when providing advice and treatment, making use of both ad hoc and more formalised moments. Vets worked to build long-lasting relationships based on secure trust with farmers to impart advice and encourage lameness management. Farmers and vets acknowledged that relationships need to be reciprocal to be effective. Care for lame sheep was thus most effective when co-developed by farmers via sharing information and feedback with vets. Challenges to providing contextual care included farmers only using the vet as a last resort, or when encountering a novel issue. This was often due to the high cost of veterinary services versus the low value of individual sheep.