Patient Opinion of Visiting Therapy Dogs in a Hospital Emergency Department

Abstract

To date there have been no studies examining whether patients want emergency department (ED) therapy dog programs. This patient-oriented study examined the opinions of patients about whether they would want to be visited by a therapy dog in the Royal University Hospital ED. Cross-sectional survey data were collected over a six week period from a convenience sample of 100 adult patients who had not been visited by a therapy dog in the ED. Most (80%) indicated they would want a visit by a therapy dog as an ED patient. A higher proportion of individuals who currently have a pet dog (95%) or identify as having lots of experience with dogs (71%) were more likely to indicate this want compared to those without a dog (90%) or little to no experience with dogs (62%). The majority were also of the opinion that patients may want to visit a therapy dog in the ED to reduce anxiety (92%) and frustration (87%) as well as to increase comfort (90%) and satisfaction (90%) and to a lesser extent to reduce pain (59%). There was no significant difference in findings by gender or age, other than a higher proportion of older adults and females identifying cultural background and tradition as a possible reason that patients may not want to be visited by a therapy dog. The findings of this study can help guide considerations for future ED therapy dog programs.

The overview of utilizing complementary therapy to relieve stress or anxiety in emergency department patients: animal-assisted therapy, art therapy, and music therapy

“…(Beck, 2014;Kline et al, 2019) Recent studies also suggested that therapy dogs are more accepted by the community, especially for people who have domestic pets or have experience with them. (Reddekopp et al, 2020) Only a small number of patients and hospital staff are afraid or are concerned that therapy animals may pose a sanitary risk. (Kline et al, 2019;Nahm et al, 2012) There are several major contraindications of AAT.…”

“…Despite researchers challenging the methodology of proving the effectiveness of AAT, the therapy should be performed along with usual treatments when the potential risk of any adverse effect is low. (Reddekopp et al, 2020) Art therapy Art therapy is considered a form of creative therapy. It is utilized to treat psychological disorders and to improve the patient's mental wellbeing.…”

“…The therapies were accepted by medical authorities and organizations. (Hartling et al, 2013;Kline et al, 2019;Rajendran et al, 2020;Reddekopp et al, 2020;Weiland et al, 2011) Hospitals may consider introducing complementary therapies, such as those mentioned in this study, to improve the patients' experiences in the ED.…”

“…Visiting the Emergency Department (ED) could be an extremely stressful event for many patients. (Rajendran et al, 2020;Reddekopp et al, 2020). They may feel frustrated, anxious, scared, or even in pain at the ED with overloaded patients.…”

Outcomes of a controlled trial with visiting therapy dog teams on pain in adults in an emergency department

“…A case study by Dell et al [ 24 ] of patients in a Canadian ED revealed that visiting with a therapy dog improved patients’ perceived levels of comfort and distress and it was a welcome distraction for patients from a stressful ED environment. These same authors surveyed patients waiting in an ED about whether they would want to be visited by a therapy dog, and the vast majority agreed and were of the opinion that patients may want to visit with a therapy dog “to reduce anxiety (92%) and frustration (87%) as well as to increase comfort (90%) and satisfaction (90%) and to a lesser extent to reduce pain (59%)” [ 27 ].…”