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).
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.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
80
2-3 ten-minute visits by a trained therapy dog and the dog's handler
2-3 ten-minute visits by a dog handler
Boston Medical Center, Trauma Inpatient Service
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
RECRUITINGParticipants' pain assessed with a numeric analog score
The visual analog score ranges from 0 to 10 where 0= no pain and 10 worst pain (5= moderate pain).
Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit
Participants' pain assessed with pictures of facial expressions
The 6 facial pictorial expressions range from 0 to 10 where 0 is a face with a broad smile and 10 is a very sad face with tears.
Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit
Depression assessed by the Brief Mood Survey
There are 5 questions related to feeling depressed in the Brief Mood Survey with five potential responses of- 'Not at all', 'Somewhat', 'Moderately', 'A lot', and 'Extremely'. The range of scores for each of the 5 questions is 0 to 4, with a summed total score of 0 to 20 for the domain and higher scores are associated with feeling more depressed.
Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit
Anxiety assessed by the Brief Mood Survey
There are 5 questions related to feeling anxious in the Brief Mood Survey with five potential responses of- 'Not at all', 'Somewhat', 'Moderately', 'A lot', and 'Extremely'. The range of scores for each of the 5 questions is 0 to 4, with a summed total score of 0 to 20 for the domain, and higher scores are associated with feeling more anxious.
Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit
Anger assessed by the Brief Mood Survey
There are 5 questions related to feeling angry in the Brief Mood Survey with five potential responses of- 'Not at all', 'Somewhat', 'Moderately', 'A lot', and 'Extremely'. The range of scores for each of the 5 questions is 0 to 4, with a summed total score of 0 to 20 for the domain, and higher scores are associated with feeling more angry.
Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit
Emotional quality of life now
The Emoqol-100 will be used to assess emotional quality of life. It is one question, 'How is your emotional quality of life now, with 100 being perfect and 0 being the worst imaginable?' Higher numbers are associated with a better quality of life.
Time frame: 24 hours after the last study visit
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