Purpose

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).

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

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

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Supportive Care
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Therapy dog visits
Participants randomized into this arm will receive visits from a therapy dog and their handler during hospitalization.
  • Other: Therapy dog visits
    2-3 ten-minute visits by a trained therapy dog and the dog's handler
Active Comparator
Dog handler visits
Participants randomized into this arm will receive visits from a dog handler during hospitalization.
  • Other: Dog handler visits
    2-3 ten-minute visits by a dog handler

Recruiting Locations

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Boston Medical Center

Study Contact

Sabrina Sanchez, MD MPH
617 414 4861
sabrina.sanchez@bmc.org

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.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.