Pawsitive Impacts of Therapy Dog Visits

NCT ID: NCT04727749

Last Updated: 2021-11-05

Study Results

Results available

Outcome measurements, participant flow, baseline characteristics, and adverse events have been published for this study.

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

211 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-06-07

Study Completion Date

2019-09-20

Brief Summary

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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

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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.

Conditions

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Pain Pain, Acute Pain, Chronic Pain, Intractable

Keywords

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Pain Emergency Department Therapy Dog

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Data is to be collected 5 days a week, with animal testing days alternating with control days.
Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants
Consent will be obtained using a deceptive consent form, which will explain that this is a pain study, but will omit any information regarding therapy dogs. Once all measures are taken, the participants will be explained the deception and asked to sign the true consent form.

Study Groups

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Therapy Dog Team Visit

Patient interacts with the therapy dog and handler.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Therapy Dog Team Visit

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

For the intervention group, patient interacts with the therapy dog, handler shares information about the therapy dog, asks about patient's pets, and offers a trading card of the therapy dog at the conclusion of the visit.

No Therapy Dog Team Visit

No patient interaction with the therapy dog or handler.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Therapy Dog Team Visit

For the intervention group, patient interacts with the therapy dog, handler shares information about the therapy dog, asks about patient's pets, and offers a trading card of the therapy dog at the conclusion of the visit.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Over the age of 18
* Able to provide consent
* Attending the Emergency Department because of pain/discomfort
* Canadian Triage and Acuity Score (CTAS) of 2-5
* Willing to visit with a therapy dog team (intervention group only)

Exclusion Criteria

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

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Royal University Hospital Foundation

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Saskatchewan

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Colleen Dell

Research Chair in One Health & Wellness, Professor, Tenured

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Colleen Dell

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Saskatchewan

Locations

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Royal University Hospital

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Site Status

Countries

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Canada

References

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Carey B, Dell CA, Stempien J, Tupper S, Rohr B, Carr E, Cruz M, Acoose S, Butt P, Broberg L, Collard L, Fele-Slaferek L, Fornssler C, Goodridge D, Gunderson J, McKenzie H, Rubin J, Shand J, Smith J, Trask J, Ukrainetz K, Meier S. Outcomes of a controlled trial with visiting therapy dog teams on pain in adults in an emergency department. PLoS One. 2022 Mar 9;17(3):e0262599. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262599. eCollection 2022.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 35263346 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Other Identifiers

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1253

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id