Cost, language barriers make pet care harder to access for Latinos in Phoenix, study shows

The major hurdles Latino pet owners face when accessing veterinarian care in the Phoenix area revolve around financial and language barriers, according to a recent study conducted by a local no-kill shelter.

The Arizona Animal Welfare League partnered with PetSmart Charities last summer to evaluate the need in Maricopa County Latino communities for veterinary services and to study how they could help residents keep their pets at home, particularly after seeing a rise in people surrendering their pets during the pandemic.

Focusing on four specific ZIP codes — 85034, 85006, 85008 and 85009 — that surround the clinic located at 40th and Washington streets and have a large Latino population, AAWL ran focus groups as well as a survey that asked participants questions about their pet care needs.

Through their research, AAWL found that residents of 85009, which encompasses the area just south of Lower Buckeye to Thomas Road in Maryvale and from 19th Avenue west toward 43rd Avenue, had the highest need. They were less likely to report having a usual source of care for their pets and were more likely to report difficulty getting vaccinations and spay and neuter surgery when they needed it.

Now, the clinic is focused on continuing to engage with this community to provide the services they need, said Alessandra Navidad, AAWL's president.

When Navidad became the president and CEO of the clinic two years ago, she wanted to find a way to connect with Latino pet owners, but didn't want to go about it with “a preconceived agenda of what the Latino community and Latino pet owners really need.”

She said she wanted to engage with the community and take the time to do it right. The shelter is in one of the targeted ZIP codes in the study and Navidad wanted to see what services the communities around the shelter were lacking.

“(We’re) trying to make sure that services align with what the community really needs,” Navidad said. “We wanted to take the time to do it right and learn more about their needs.”

The community assessment of over 600 pet owners in Central City Phoenix, according to a release from AAWL, showed that a number of pet owners struggled to pay for basic needs and struggled with vaccine availability, veterinary access and limited pet health care access.

Of the 614 responses, the majority completed the survey in English and 448 of the respondents self-identified as Hispanic.

Accessing pet care: Nonprofit aims to tackle needs of Latino pet owners in Maricopa County

Barriers to veterinary care in the Phoenix-area Latino community

Veterinary services are necessary for providing health care to pets. The study states that having a “medical home” for pets is viewed as the best practice for their well-being. The study documents how nearly 60% of 568 respondents said their pets needed care and they were unable to receive it.

The most frequently cited barrier was cost. Affordability determines how likely pet owners are able to take their pets to receive veterinary services. The study documents how the most selected copay option from respondents was a price range of $11 to $25.

Another barrier cited in the study was access to care outside of regular business hours. This highly impacted their ability to take their pets in for routine veterinary care. The majority preferred evening hours.

AAWL asked pet owners what services and resources they would find most helpful. The three top answers were financial support for medical care, behavioral (training) and financial support for pet necessities.

Language also played a part: More than half said they would prefer veterinary services in Spanish. Language ability, however, is not the same as language preference. More than a third of respondents were bilingual and said they still would prefer services in Spanish.

It's not just about access to pet care, but also information

Spanish language survey respondents were less likely to have a regular source of clinic-based veterinary care and were more likely to have no regular source of care at all, including mobile or shelter veterinary service care.

“There were significant disparities,” Navidad said. “You were so much more likely to have access to information if you spoke English than if you didn’t. It's not just about accessing vet services but it's accessing information. People don’t know where the services are.”

Navidad recalled how, often, when non-English speaking pet owners go to clinics for services, they bring their children to translate. When having difficult conversations — especially about euthanizing animals — Navidad found that it can be emotionally hard for children.

“It's hard when you’re going to a veterinarian and you don’t speak the language and the veterinarian doesn’t speak the language,” Navidad said. “They’re not easy topics to explain.”

The growing need for bilingual services proves harder with a shortage of veterinarians, according to a report by Mars Veterinary Health. The study shows that by 2030, there could be a shortage of 15,000 veterinarians. It estimated that by 2030, nearly 26,000 new graduates could go into the practice. However, there is a prospective need for more than 40,000 veterinarians.

According to Navidad, AAWL will continue to do a second round of surveying in that ZIP code this year and do more focus groups and community meetings to see how they can best address their needs.

“We now need to align our services at the clinic with these community needs,” Navidad said. “(We) want to engage in a genuine back and forth with folks that are living here to say ‘what would be the most helpful.'”

Low-cost pet care in Phoenix

According to Navidad, the Latino community has been disproportionately affected by the lack of access to pet care services and information, which is why the organization partners with PetSmart charities to host monthly pet clinics that service about 150 pet owners every third Saturday of the month.

The clinics offer low-cost services to all people who attend and cost-free vaccines to pet owners who live in the four targeted Latino-majority ZIP codes in the study.

The pop-up pet clinic offers translation services for Spanish-speaking customers.

Low-cost clinic

• There is currently a $40 consultation fee for their low-cost clinic.

• Those who live in the targeted ZIP codes can receive sponsored services.

• Free vaccines are offered every third Saturday of the month.

• The next vaccine clinic is Saturday, July 15, by appointment.

Pandemic pet support: Arizona Humane Society offers financial resources to pet owners

Republic reporter Laura Daniella Sepúlveda contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cost, language barriers are hurdles for Latino pet owners in Phoenix