Effects of Dog Therapy Dogs on Adults in Emergency Department

by | May 2, 2022 | Alternative Therapies

Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Study concluded that visiting therapy-dog intervention had a small, but positive improvement in measures of pain, anxiety, depression and well-being. 

Pain accounts for approximately 80% of all visits to the hospital Emergency Department 1,2.  Due to the fact that pain is both sensory and emotional, pain can negatively affect how someone also experiences wait times for care in the Emergency Department 1,3.  The environment along with pain can also lead to anxiety 1,3.  One of the first studies conducted on therapy dogs in the Emergency Department, found therapy dog intervention can lead to decreases in perception of pain and anxiety 1.

To date, few studies have been conducted with therapy dogs in the Emergency Department.  One recent trial in the United States found therapy dogs visiting the Emergency Department helped reduce patient anxiety 1,4.  Research in this field is growing, but typically lacks control groups and is made-up of small sample sizes 1.  The recent research attempted to address these main criticisms of dog therapy research 1.

A total of 198 patients (avg age 58.4 years) were randomized to either an experimental (dog-therapy, n=97) or control group (n=101).  Research assistants approached potential patients in the Emergency Department asking if they would like to participate in a pain study.  All participants were already located in individually curtained-off beds or rooms.  The dog-therapy group then received a 10-minute visit with a certified therapy dog and the dog handler, in addition to usual care 1.  Data for the experimental group was collected 10 minutes before the visit, immediately after the visit with the dog and 20-minutes post-visit.  Data for the control group was collected twice, with a 30-minute interval between.

Data points for pain severity, anxiety, depression and general well-being were measured on an 11-point scale (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System), the higher the rating the worse the outcome.  In addition, heart rate and blood pressure were collected.

Results were as follows:

  • The dog-therapy group had a significant decrease in the pain scale from pre- to post-intervention (mean change -.09, p=0.004)
  • The dog-therapy group had a significant decrease in anxiety (mean change -1.13, p=0.005), depression (mean change -0.72, p=0.002) and well-being (mean change -0.87, p<0.001)
  • No changes were observed in the control group.
  • Neither the control group or dog therapy group had post-intervention differences in blood pressure or heart rate.

In conclusion, visiting therapy-dog intervention had a small, but positive improvement in measures of pain, anxiety, depression and well-being.  Future research should consider having the dog handler spend the 10-minutes with the control group, without the dog, to distinguish if it is more of the interaction or the animal that makes the difference 1.  Future research should also consider multiple hospitals so the results can be more generalized to greater populations 1.

Source: Carey, Ben, Colleen Anne Dell, James Stempien, Susan Tupper, Betty Rohr, Eloise Carr, Maria Cruz et al. “Outcomes of a controlled trial with visiting therapy dog teams on pain in adults in an emergency department.” Plos one 17, no. 3 (2022): e0262599.

© 2022 Carey et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Posted May 2, 2022.

Jessica Patella, ND, is a naturopathic physician specializing in nutrition and homeopathic medicine and offers a holistic approach to health. She earned her ND from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ, and is a member of the North Carolina Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Visit her website at www.awarenesswellness.com.

References:

  1. Carey B, Dell CA, Stempien J, et al. Outcomes of a controlled trial with visiting therapy dog teams on pain in adults in an emergency department. PLoS One. 2022;17(3):e0262599. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0262599
  2. Wheeler E, Hardie T, Klemm P, et al. Level of pain and waiting time in the emergency department. Pain Manag Nurs. Jun 2010;11(2):108-14. doi:10.1016/j.pmn.2009.06.005
  3. Body R, Kaide E, Kendal S, Foex B. Not all suffering is pain: sources of patients’ suffering in the emergency department call for improvements in communication from practitioners. Emerg Med J. Jan 2015;32(1):15-20. doi:10.1136/emermed-2013-202860
  4. Kline JA, Fisher MA, Pettit KL, Linville CT, Beck AM. Controlled clinical trial of canine therapy versus usual care to reduce patient anxiety in the emergency department. PLoS One. 2019;14(1):e0209232. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0209232