Animal Assisted Activity Program on Patients and Staff on an Inpatient Surgical Oncology Unit

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center146 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of this study is to describe the effects of canine-assisted activity visits on patients and staff in a hospital setting. The Caring Canines program uses dogs who have been trained to be obedient, calm and comforting. It involves a visit by a volunteer (called the dog's handler) and the volunteer's dog that has been trained and tested to have a good personality and to follow commands. A visit typically lasts about 10-15 minutes with the patient interacting with the dog while the dog is supervised by the handler. Memorial Sloan Kettering currently has Caring Canine dogs visit patients but the investigators don't yet know the impact of these visits on patients and staff. The investigators would like to see how the Caring Canine visits impact a patients' mood, including anxiety, stress, and sense of well-being. Two groups of patients will take part in this study - the first group will receive standard post surgery care and will not receive a visit from the Caring Canines program and the second group will receive daily visits (Tuesday -Friday) from the Caring Canines program while they are on M15. The purpose of this study is to look at differences in well-being between patients who have the visits with the dogs and patients who do not.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

146

Conditions

Postoperative Care

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: Patients * Age greater than 21 * Admitted to M15 following a Monday or Tuesday surgery * Ability to speak and read English. Staff * Age greater than 21 * Works at least one day shift a week on M15 * Ability to speak and read English Exclusion Criteria: Patients * Self reported allergy to dogs * Medical need to be in an isolation room * Medical need to be in a Protective Environment room . Staff * Self reported allergy to dogs

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

change from baseline in the follow-up PHQ-4 scores

The PHQ-4 is an ultra-brief self-report questionnaire that consists of a 2-item depression scale and a 2 item anxiety scale. Among the control and intervention groups to assess psychological effects of the program. Responses on the pain scale will assess physiological effects, and responses on the open-ended questions will identify patient-perceived benefits of the program

Time frame: 1 year

difference in baseline and follow-up ProQOL scores (For Staff)

(Compassion Satisfaction score and Burnout score) to assess change in work satisfaction due to the program, and responses on the qualitative questions will address staff-perceived benefits of the program.