Pawsitive Impacts of Therapy Dog Visits

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: The goal of this unique 18 month study is to better understand the experiences of pain patients in the Royal University Hospital (RUH) Emergency Department (ED), to create excellence in health care. The purpose is to measure the impact of visiting therapy dogs on reducing ED patient pain.

Detailed Description: The goal of this unique 18 month study is to better understand the experiences of pain patients in the Royal University Hospital (RUH) Emergency Department (ED), to create excellence in health care. The purpose is to measure the impact of visiting therapy dogs on reducing ED patient pain.

The background rationale is that pain is the primary reason individuals attend an ED, patient pain is generally not well managed in EDs, Saskatchewan EDs have among the longest wait times in the country, and anxiety associated with ED waiting can negatively impact patients' pain.

Research suggests a therapy dog can change patients' perceptions of pain and its intensity and facilitate relaxation. The intervention will be examined for its impact on patients' sensory pain (i.e., physical pain severity), affective pain (i.e., emotional pain unpleasantness) and anxiety.

It is important to find creative, low-cost ways to respond to patients attending the ED for pain. The primary objective of this study is to generate new health-related knowledge on the ED pain patient experience. The secondary objectives are to implement effective end-of-grant knowledge translation and dissemination strategies and undertake a successful model of collaborative, multidisciplinary research among researchers, patient advisors and system representatives, rooted in a One Health framework.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Pain medications (specifically immediate release acetaminophen and opioid analgesics) within an hour prior to the visit

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Therapy Dog Team Visit	Therapy Dog Team Visit	Patient interacts with the therapy dog and handler.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Pain Score	Baseline visit compared to 20 minutes post-visit	Pain score using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (revised version) (ESAS-r) 11-point rating scale (scale of 0 to 10), in which higher ratings indicate worse outcomes.
Number of Participants Stratified by Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (Revised Version) (ESAS-r) Pain Scores	20 minutes post visit	Participants Stratified by Pain scores Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (revised version) (ESAS-r) 11-point rating scale (scale of 0 to 10), in which higher ratings indicate worse outcomes, Pain Scores at 20 Minutes Post Visit.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Participants Stratified by Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (Revised Version) (ESAS-r) Depression Scores	20 minutes post-visit	Participants Stratified by Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (revised version) (ESAS-r) 11-point rating scale (scale of 0 to 10), in which higher ratings indicate worse outcomes, Depression Scores at 20 Minutes Post Visit
Number of Participants Stratified by Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (Revised Version) (ESAS-r) Well-Being Scores	20 minutes post-visit	Participants Stratified by Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (revised version) (ESAS-r) 11-point rating scale (scale of 0 to 10), in which higher ratings indicate worse outcomes, Well-being Scores at 20 Minutes Post Visit.
Number of Participants Stratified by Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (Revised Version) (ESAS-r) Anxiety Scores	20 minutes post-visit	Participants Stratified by Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (revised version) (ESAS-r) 11-point rating scale (scale of 0 to 10), in which higher ratings indicate worse outcomes, Anxiety Scores at 20 Minutes Post Visit
Change in Blood Pressure	20 minutes post-visit	Mean arterial blood pressure using a blood pressure cuff
Change in Heart Rate	20 minutes post-visit	Radial pulse