PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kate Hodgson
AU  - Luisa Barton
AU  - Marcia Darling
AU  - Viola Antao
AU  - Florence A. Kim
AU  - Alan Monavvari
TI  - Pets' Impact on Your Patients' Health: Leveraging Benefits and Mitigating Risk
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2015.04.140254
DP  - 2015 Jul 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 526--534
VI  - 28
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/28/4/526.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/28/4/526.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2015 Jul 01; 28
AB  - Over two thirds of Americans live with pets and consider them important members of the family. Pets benefit human health (zooeyia) in 4 ways: as builders of social capital, as agents of harm reduction, as motivators for healthy behavior change, and as potential participants in treatment plans. Conversely, pets can present risks to their owners. They are potential sources of zoonotic disease and injury. Pets can also challenge a family's prioritization of financial and social resources. To activate the benefits of zooeyia and appropriately calibrate and mitigate zoonotic risk, physicians first need to know about the pets in their patients' families. Asking about pets is a simple and feasible approach to assess patients' environmental history and social capital. Asking about pets is a nonthreatening way to build rapport and demonstrates an interest in the whole family, which can improve the physician–patient therapeutic alliance. Physicians can use an interprofessional, collaborative approach with veterinarians to address zoonotic health risks and leverage zooeyia.