Anxiety, Depression, Loneliness, Quality of Life
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this research study is to test whether an animal-assisted interaction (AAI) intervention is better than conversation with another person or treatment as usual for improving mood, anxiety, loneliness, quality of life, and indicators of health care services such as number of hospitalizations, length of hospital stay, and cost of services. Participants will be patients admitted for an inpatient stay at Virginia Commonwealth University Health who meet the study entry requirements.
Detailed description
Participants will be randomly assigned (like the flip of a coin) to receive one of the following interventions: 1. Animal-assisted interaction (a dog-handler team will visit them in their hospital room) 2. Conversational interaction with just participants and the handler 3. Treatment as usual (the regular services patients are currently receiving in the hospital) Participation in this study will last six months. This includes the three days on which participants will receive one of the interventions described above, plus completing some questionnaires online or by phone one month and six months after the baseline visit. These questionnaires will ask questions about pet ownership, relationship with pets participants have had, loneliness, depression, anxiety, health-related quality of life, significant life events in the past year, and social supports. Approximately 180 individuals will participate in this study.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALAnimal-assisted interaction
A dog-handler team or a handler alone will visit participants with a dog for approximately 20 minutes on 3 consecutive days during their inpatient hospital stay
BEHAVIORALConversational control
A handler alone will visit participants without a dog for approximately 20 minutes on 3 consecutive days during their inpatient hospital stay
Sponsors
Waltham Petcare Science Institute
Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* 18 years of age or older * Projected to be admitted to the hospital for the upcoming four days * Speak English * Able to provide consent.
Exclusion criteria
* Fear of, or allergy to, dogs * Documented contact precautions * Cognitive impairment that prevents consent or completion of measures.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants enrolled | 2 years | The number of eligible patients who sigh consent forms and are randomized to a condition |
| Attrition rate | 30 months | Number of participants who do not complete the full study |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in loneliness | Baseline to 6 months | Loneliness will be assessed using the 20-item Revised (Version 3) University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (Rev University of California, Los Angeles - Loneliness Scale). |
| Change in depression | Baseline to 6 months | Depressive symptomology will be measured with the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression short form (CESD-10) scale. |
| Change in anxiety | Baseline to 6 months | Anxiety will be measured using the 20-item scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI-AD). |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed