Therapy Dog Visits for Patients Hospitalized With Traumatic Injuries

Not Applicable

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: Trauma Injury; Depression; Anxiety; Anger; Pain

• Registration Number: NCT06812247
• Lead Sponsor: Boston Medical Center

Brief Summary

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).

Detailed Description

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 Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2025-02-01
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-02-01
• Study First Posted: 2025-02-06
• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-25
• Last Update Posted: 2025-04-29
• Study Start: 2025-05
• Primary Completion: 2026-06
• Study Completion: 2026-06

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 80

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients admitted to the Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (TACS) service following a trauma
• English or Spanish speaking
• Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

• Fear of dogs, allergy to dogs
• Immunocompromised
• Contact precautions
• Delirious, intubated, or otherwise unable to consent

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Participants' pain assessed with a numeric analog score	24 hours after the last study visit	The visual analog score ranges from 0 to 10 where 0= no pain and 10 worst pain (5= moderate pain).
Participants' pain assessed with pictures of facial expressions	24 hours after the last study visit	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.
Depression assessed by the Brief Mood Survey	24 hours after the last study visit	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.
Anxiety assessed by the Brief Mood Survey	24 hours after the last study visit	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.
Anger assessed by the Brief Mood Survey	24 hours after the last study visit	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.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Emotional quality of life now	24 hours after the last study visit	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.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Boston Medical Center, Trauma Inpatient Service; 🇺🇸 Boston, Massachusetts, United States