The Impact of Therapy Dogs on Anxiety and Emotional Management in the Pediatric Emergency Department

Completed

• Conditions: Anxiety; Emotional Regulation
• Interventions: Behavioral: 10-minute visit with therapy dog and child life specialist handler

• Registration Number: NCT04942678
• Lead Sponsor: University of Louisville

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of therapy dogs on children's anxiety and emotional management during a visit to the pediatric emergency department.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2021-03-25
• Study Start: 2021-05-25
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-06-25
• Study First Posted: 2021-06-28
• Primary Completion: 2021-07-26
• Study Completion: 2021-07-26
• Status Verified: 2022-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-03-02
• Last Update Posted: 2022-03-17

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 41

Inclusion Criteria

• Children with a SUD score of 30 or higher indicated by the caregiver

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Exclusion Criteria

• Active infection: abscesses, fever, respiratory issues, vomiting
• Patients presenting for burn care, dog bite, ESI triage category 1 or 2, or transferred from outside facilities
• Sterile procedures
• Oncology patients / patients with known neutropenia in past medical history
• Parent/caregiver or patient fear of dogs
• Parent/caregiver or patient allergy to dogs
• Dog bite injury
• Already underwent procedure during their visit

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Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Pediatric patients ages 4-7 years old in the Pediatric Emergency Department	10-minute visit with therapy dog and child life specialist handler	Patients will receive a 10-minute visit with therapy dog and child life handler
Pediatric patients ages 8-12 years old in the Pediatric Emergency Department	10-minute visit with therapy dog and child life specialist handler	Patients will receive a 10-minute visit with therapy dog and child life handler

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in observed anxiety score as measured by Child Emotional Manifestation Scale (CEMS) before and after therapy dog visit	change from baseline at 20 minutes after intervention	To determine the change in emotional management in children aged 4-12 years after a visit from a therapy dog and child life specialist handler, as measured by an observed CEMS score (Children's Emotional Management Scale) before and after the visit. This will be completed by an investigator. Scores range from 5-25, with higher scores indicating higher levels of observed anxiety.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Overall Parent Satisfaction	Immediately after completion of intervention	Parents will complete a survey describing their satisfaction with their visit
Change in perceived anxiety level of patient by parent as measured by Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDs) before and after therapy Dog Visit	change from baseline at 20 minutes after intervention	To determine the change in perceived level of child anxiety as reported by parents after a visit with a therapy dog and child life specialist handler. This will be measured using the Subjective Unit of Distress (SUD) score. Scores range from 0-100 with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived anxiety by the parent.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Norton Children's Hospital; 🇺🇸 Louisville, Kentucky, United States