Therapy Dog Visits for Patients Hospitalized With Traumatic Injuries
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Therapy dog visits, Dog handler visits.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Trauma Injury, Depression, Anxiety, Anger. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
Animal assisted therapy (AAT) with dogs has been shown to be beneficial for a wide range of patients with both acute and chronic illnesses, including spinal cord injuries, heart failure, myocardial infarctions, strokes, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Studies have also demonstrated that even in healthy adults, the presence of dogs is associated with physiologic changes such as increased pain threshold, decreased blood pressure, and decreased heart rate. However, few studies have investigated the role of AAT in the post-operative course in adults. This study will investigate the impact of therapy dog visits on pain and anxiety scores for trauma patients at Boston Medical Center (BMC).
Detailed description
This study will be a randomized control design. Within 48 hours of admission, the study team will approach eligible patients admitted to the inpatient trauma service to discuss the study and obtain informed consent from patients expected to be admitted for 3-7 days. Consenting patients will be randomized to either a) participate in 2-3 ten-minute dog visits or b) receive 2-3 ten-minute visits with a handler alone. Within 24 hours after the last anticipated study visit, a member of the study team will administer a survey to assess participants' pain, depression, anxiety, mood, and emotional quality of life.
Interventions
- Other Therapy dog visits
2-3 ten-minute visits by a trained therapy dog and the dog's handler - Other Dog handler visits
2-3 ten-minute visits by a dog handler
Primary outcome measures
- Participants' pain assessed with a numeric analog score [Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit]
- Participants' pain assessed with pictures of facial expressions [Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit]
- Depression assessed by the Brief Mood Survey [Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit]
- Anxiety assessed by the Brief Mood Survey [Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit]
- Anger assessed by the Brief Mood Survey [Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit]
Secondary outcome measures (1)
- Emotional quality of life now [Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Patients admitted to the Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (TACS) service following a trauma
- English or Spanish speaking
- Able to provide informed consent
Exclusion criteria
- Fear of dogs, allergy to dogs
- Immunocompromised
- Contact precautions
- Delirious, intubated, or otherwise unable to consent
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- Boston Medical Center, Trauma Inpatient Service — Boston
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06812247 · H45457