It is known that animals are good for humans physiologically and psychologically. Therefore, in this study, the effects of live cat and robotic cat therapies on the symptoms and happiness levels of oncology patients after chemotherapy were examined.
Cancer is a disease that requires a long-term struggle with the psychosocial and economic burden it creates on the individual, family and society, bringing with it many health problems. Although chemotherapy treatment is the main treatment method for patients, it can cause some changes in the individual's appearance while treating cancer and many symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, alopecia, and constipation after treatment. At the same time, patients may feel tired, sleepy and depressed after treatment. However, cancer patients and their families experiencing some unknown diagnosis and treatment processes related to cancer also cause them to be unhappy as a result of experiencing some physical, social, emotional and spiritual problems during the treatment. It is reported in the literature that pet therapy or animal-assisted treatments reduce disease-related symptoms and make patients happy. Pet therapy is an auxiliary non-pharmacological form of treatment that heals physiological and psychological diseases through interactions between animals and humans that meet certain criteria, and stimulates and activates the body mechanisms required for the development of the individual's health behaviors. In the literature, pet therapy studies with oncology patients are quite limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effects of live cat and robotic cat therapies on the symptoms and happiness levels experienced by oncology patients after chemotherapy.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
45
The patients were allowed to spend time with an animal (cat/robotic cat) for 20 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks.
Gümüşhane University
Gümüşhane, Turkey (Türkiye)
Edmonton Symptom Diagnostic Scale
The scale includes "pain, fatigue, nausea, sadness, anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite, the feeling of well-being, shortness of breath and other problems (changes in the skin and nails, sores in the mouth, numbness in the hands)." Sadırlı and Ünsar added other problems to the scale. Therefore, the current version with 11 items was used in this study. The severity of each symptom ranges from "no symptoms" to "very severe," with increasing numerical intensity between 0 and 10. "Edmonton Symptom Diagnostic Scale" were administered to the patients three times in total before the study (pretest), at the sixth week/middle (intermediate measurement), and the end of the 12th week/end of the survey (posttest).
Time frame: 12 Weeks
Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form
In the Turkish adaptation, the scale has seven items and a 5-point Likert type. The scores obtained from the items on the scale vary from "1 point: I Completely Disagree" to "5 points: I Completely Agree", with the lowest being seven and the highest being 35 points. "Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form" were administered to the patients three times in total before the study (pretest), at the sixth week/middle (intermediate measurement), and the end of the 12th week/end of the survey (posttest).
Time frame: 12 Weeks
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