Canine-Assisted Anxiety Reduction In Emergency Care

NCT ID: NCT03784573

Last Updated: 2024-07-17

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 80 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2019-01-07
• Study Completion Date: 2024-06-30

Brief Summary

Compare the effect of a single exposure to a therapy dog and handler within the pediatric emergency department patient with anxiety by measuring the change in patient perception of anxiety before and after dog exposure using the FACES scale. We will also measure galvanic skin response (resistance to electrical current).

Detailed Description

This study challenges current dogma by introducing a widely available, low cost method of dog therapy to reduce patient stress. The organization "Paws of Love" estimates that it has 180,000 volunteers who have qualified therapy dogs and who are generally willing to volunteer their time in emergency care. The benefits may include improved perception of wellness, less opioid use, and decreased use of physical and chemical restraints. As a further extrapolation, this secondary effect may extend to improved patient-doctor communication and patient experience. This will in turn improve patient safety in the Emergency Department, decreasing the number of adverse events, and decreasing the risk of medical malpractice by improving the patient-provider relationship. (6, 7)

Conditions

Anxiety; Opioid Use; Children; Therapy Dog

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Dog + handler

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Dog + handler

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Dog + handler

No dog

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

No dog

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

No dog

Interventions

Dog + handler

Dog + handler

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

No dog

No dog

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 4-17 years old;
• Physician or nurse with primary care responsibilities believes that the patients has a moderate to high level of anxiety

Exclusion Criteria

• violent behavior and any reported prior fear or adverse reaction to dogs in the dog intervention group.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 4 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 17 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Indiana University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Heather Kelker

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

IU Health Riley Children's Hospital

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Countries

United States

References

Kelker HP, Siddiqui HK, Beck AM, Kline JA. Therapy Dogs for Anxiety in Children in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Mar 3;8(3):e250636. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0636.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40085085 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

1811186507

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id