A study into the effects of activities with animals on the well-being of Dutch nursing home patients with dementia

Animal-assisted interventions in Dutch dementia care: effects on quality of life and neuropsychiatric symptoms

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN93568533

Enrollment

120

Registered

2017-09-18

Start date

2014-11-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2021-04-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Dementia Mental and Behavioural Disorders Unspecified dementia

Interventions

Nursing home clients are randomised via computer generated random numbers to three groups with protocolled activities: Group 1: dog assisted activity group sessions with handler

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. 24/7 nursing home client 2. Diagnosis of dementia 3. Consent by legal guardian

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Clients resisting participation, either verbal or non-verbal 2. Clients with a trauma related to animals in life history 3. Clients with a dog allergy 4. Clients with severe aggression that might endanger other clients or the participating dogs

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
1. Social interaction during sessions 2. Neuropsychiatric symptoms during sessions Each client will participate in one intervention session a week. All sessions will be videotaped for the entire duration of the study (8 weeks). Videos will be analysed after the intervention period using video-coding to calculate the amount of social interactions and neuropsychiatric symptoms displayed during the sessions.	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Social interaction during sessions 2. Neuropsychiatric symptoms during sessions Each client will participate in one intervention session a week. All sessions will be videotaped for the entire duration of the study (8 weeks). Videos will be analysed after the intervention period using video-coding to calculate the amount of social interactions and neuropsychiatric symptoms displayed during the sessions.

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Questionnaires will be used to measure several secondary outcomes at all or a subset of the following timepoints: baseline (t0), after 4 weeks (t1, halfway), after 8 weeks (t2, at the end of the intervention period), after 12 weeks (t3, 4 weeks post intervention follow-up): 1. Quality of life, measured using Qualidem at t0, t1, t2, t3 2. Depression, measured using Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) at t0, t1, t2, t3 3. Neuropsychiatric symptoms, measured using Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) at t0, t1, t2, t3 4. Agitation, measured using Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) at t0, t1, t2, t3 5. Medication usage, measured using medical records at t0, t2 6. Intercurrent diseases, measured using medical records at t0, t2 7. Dementia stage, measured using Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) at t0, t2 8. Functional state, measured using Interview for Deteriorating in Daily living activities in Dementia (IDDD) at t0, t2 9. Dementia, assessed using Gedragsobservatie Intramurale Psychogeriatrie (GIP, general dementia assessment tool, Dutch) at t0, t2	—

Measure

Time frame

Questionnaires will be used to measure several secondary outcomes at all or a subset of the following timepoints: baseline (t0), after 4 weeks (t1, halfway), after 8 weeks (t2, at the end of the intervention period), after 12 weeks (t3, 4 weeks post intervention follow-up): 1. Quality of life, measured using Qualidem at t0, t1, t2, t3 2. Depression, measured using Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) at t0, t1, t2, t3 3. Neuropsychiatric symptoms, measured using Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) at t0, t1, t2, t3 4. Agitation, measured using Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) at t0, t1, t2, t3 5. Medication usage, measured using medical records at t0, t2 6. Intercurrent diseases, measured using medical records at t0, t2 7. Dementia stage, measured using Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) at t0, t2 8. Functional state, measured using Interview for Deteriorating in Daily living activities in Dementia (IDDD) at t0, t2 9. Dementia, assessed using Gedragsobservatie Intramurale Psychogeriatrie (GIP, general dementia assessment tool, Dutch) at t0, t2

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Countries

Netherlands

Contacts

Public ContactLonneke Schuurmans

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026