Animal Control and Field Services Officers’ Perspectives on Community Engagement: A Qualitative Phenomenology Study
Very little is known about the prevalence, scope, and methods of community engagement employed by animal control and field services officers to address the issue of animal cruelty and neglect. This study used a phenomenological approach to understand how officers defined community engagement. The re...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/1/68 |
| _version_ | 1827761448120483840 |
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| author | Liana R. Moss Sloane M. Hawes Katherine Connolly Morgan Bergstrom Kaleigh O’Reilly Kevin N. Morris |
| author_facet | Liana R. Moss Sloane M. Hawes Katherine Connolly Morgan Bergstrom Kaleigh O’Reilly Kevin N. Morris |
| author_sort | Liana R. Moss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Very little is known about the prevalence, scope, and methods of community engagement employed by animal control and field services officers to address the issue of animal cruelty and neglect. This study used a phenomenological approach to understand how officers defined community engagement. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with twenty-nine animal control and field services officers. The definitions of community engagement varied greatly across this sample of U.S. officers. However, most officers agreed that strategies such as relationship-building, providing assistance or information, and allowing time for compliance were among the most effective community engagement strategies. In addition, several barriers to incorporating community engagement strategies in the work of animal control professionals were identified. Future research and policymaking should seek to establish a consistent definition of community engagement in animal control and field services that can then be optimized for specific communities through rigorous evaluation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:13:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a9736f98538148d0ba65f8bcb40952c6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:13:04Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-a9736f98538148d0ba65f8bcb40952c62023-11-16T14:18:41ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-12-011316810.3390/ani13010068Animal Control and Field Services Officers’ Perspectives on Community Engagement: A Qualitative Phenomenology StudyLiana R. Moss0Sloane M. Hawes1Katherine Connolly2Morgan Bergstrom3Kaleigh O’Reilly4Kevin N. Morris5Institute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USAInstitute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USAInstitute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USAInstitute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USAInstitute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USAInstitute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USAVery little is known about the prevalence, scope, and methods of community engagement employed by animal control and field services officers to address the issue of animal cruelty and neglect. This study used a phenomenological approach to understand how officers defined community engagement. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with twenty-nine animal control and field services officers. The definitions of community engagement varied greatly across this sample of U.S. officers. However, most officers agreed that strategies such as relationship-building, providing assistance or information, and allowing time for compliance were among the most effective community engagement strategies. In addition, several barriers to incorporating community engagement strategies in the work of animal control professionals were identified. Future research and policymaking should seek to establish a consistent definition of community engagement in animal control and field services that can then be optimized for specific communities through rigorous evaluation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/1/68community engagementanimal controlfield servicesanimal protectionanimal crueltyanimal neglect |
| spellingShingle | Liana R. Moss Sloane M. Hawes Katherine Connolly Morgan Bergstrom Kaleigh O’Reilly Kevin N. Morris Animal Control and Field Services Officers’ Perspectives on Community Engagement: A Qualitative Phenomenology Study Animals community engagement animal control field services animal protection animal cruelty animal neglect |
| title | Animal Control and Field Services Officers’ Perspectives on Community Engagement: A Qualitative Phenomenology Study |
| title_full | Animal Control and Field Services Officers’ Perspectives on Community Engagement: A Qualitative Phenomenology Study |
| title_fullStr | Animal Control and Field Services Officers’ Perspectives on Community Engagement: A Qualitative Phenomenology Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Animal Control and Field Services Officers’ Perspectives on Community Engagement: A Qualitative Phenomenology Study |
| title_short | Animal Control and Field Services Officers’ Perspectives on Community Engagement: A Qualitative Phenomenology Study |
| title_sort | animal control and field services officers perspectives on community engagement a qualitative phenomenology study |
| topic | community engagement animal control field services animal protection animal cruelty animal neglect |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/1/68 |
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