Animal Assisted Activity Program on Patients and Staff on an Inpatient Surgical Oncology Unit
Caring Canines: Outcomes From an Animal Assisted Activity Program on Patients and Staff on an Inpatient Surgical Oncology Unit
1 other identifier
observational
146
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to describe the effects of canine-assisted activity visits on patients and staff in a hospital setting. The Caring Canines program uses dogs who have been trained to be obedient, calm and comforting. It involves a visit by a volunteer (called the dog's handler) and the volunteer's dog that has been trained and tested to have a good personality and to follow commands. A visit typically lasts about 10-15 minutes with the patient interacting with the dog while the dog is supervised by the handler. Memorial Sloan Kettering currently has Caring Canine dogs visit patients but the investigators don't yet know the impact of these visits on patients and staff. The investigators would like to see how the Caring Canine visits impact a patients' mood, including anxiety, stress, and sense of well-being. Two groups of patients will take part in this study - the first group will receive standard post surgery care and will not receive a visit from the Caring Canines program and the second group will receive daily visits (Tuesday -Friday) from the Caring Canines program while they are on M15. The purpose of this study is to look at differences in well-being between patients who have the visits with the dogs and patients who do not.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for all trials
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
January 1, 2015
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
February 5, 2015
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
February 16, 2015
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
January 1, 2017
CompletedJanuary 13, 2017
January 1, 2017
2 years
February 5, 2015
January 12, 2017
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (2)
change from baseline in the follow-up PHQ-4 scores
The PHQ-4 is an ultra-brief self-report questionnaire that consists of a 2-item depression scale and a 2 item anxiety scale. Among the control and intervention groups to assess psychological effects of the program. Responses on the pain scale will assess physiological effects, and responses on the open-ended questions will identify patient-perceived benefits of the program
1 year
difference in baseline and follow-up ProQOL scores (For Staff)
(Compassion Satisfaction score and Burnout score) to assess change in work satisfaction due to the program, and responses on the qualitative questions will address staff-perceived benefits of the program.
1 year
Study Arms (3)
standard post surgery care
An initial cohort of consecutive patients admitted to the 15th floor of the hospital on a Monday or Tuesday will form the usual care control arm of the study. Once this cohort is completed, the Caring Canines program will start.
Caring Canines program
Once the standard of care cohort is completed, the Caring Canines program will start making visits on the 15th floor and a second cohort of consecutive patients admitted to M15 on a Monday or Tuesday will form the intervention (experimental) arm of the study.patients admitted to M15 on a Monday or Tuesday will form the intervention (experimental) arm of the study.
staff canine-assisted
For the staff portion of this study a longitudinal pre and post intervention design will be used. Baseline staff assessments will occur prior to the Caring Canine program being implemented on the unit. The assessments include questions about compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue as well as some open ended questions about your thoughts on the Caring Canines program. Post assessment will occur after the program has been active on the unit for at least 6 weeks. Only staff who work at least one Monday - Friday day shift each week will be eligible to participate.
Interventions
The therapy dogs who visit at MSKCC. A visit by a therapy dog typically lasts about 10-15 minutes with the patient interacting with the therapy dog while the dog is supervised by the handler.
The baseline and post assessment will include the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL R-IV) (Stamm, 1997-2005) and qualitative questions.
Eligibility Criteria
Staff and inpatients on the 15th floor.
You may qualify if:
- Patients
- Age greater than 21
- Admitted to M15 following a Monday or Tuesday surgery
- Ability to speak and read English.
- Staff
- Age greater than 21
- Works at least one day shift a week on M15
- Ability to speak and read English
You may not qualify if:
- Patients
- Self reported allergy to dogs
- Medical need to be in an isolation room
- Medical need to be in a Protective Environment room .
- Staff
- Self reported allergy to dogs
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, 10065, United States
Related Links
MeSH Terms
Interventions
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Pamela Ginex, EdD, RN, OCN
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Study Design
- Study Type
- observational
- Observational Model
- COHORT
- Time Perspective
- PROSPECTIVE
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
February 5, 2015
First Posted
February 16, 2015
Study Start
January 1, 2015
Primary Completion
January 1, 2017
Last Updated
January 13, 2017
Record last verified: 2017-01