Recent research explores the use of therapy dogs to reduce anxiety in patients and their family members

It’s estimated that one in five people will be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) during their lifetime, and the rest will experience a close family member who is. The ICU is reserved for people who are critically ill, with common reasons for admission including serious illnesses, trauma, following surgery, or for palliative care.

A visit to the ICU can be a frightening experience, with beeping machines and alarms, which often leads to heightened anxiety for patients, as well as their families, and can linger even after the patient has recovered. For this reason, a hospital in Australia has tested the use of a canine-assisted intervention to reduce anxiety in ICU patients and their family members.

Therapy dogs in the ICU

The study included 70 adult patients, who had been in the ICU for more than 72 hours and were alert enough to take part, and 71 family members. Participants experienced a 15-20 minute session with a therapy dog, who was provided by Delta Therapy Dogs, and trained to stay calm in chaotic environments.

During the sessions, dogs were permitted to sit on the end of the bed or on a nearby chair, and participants could pet the dog if they wanted to. All participants completed a self-reported anxiety scale shortly before, and after, the therapy dog session. Patients also completed a pain assessment and had their vital signs recorded before and after.

A drop in anxiety levels

The results showed that patients’ anxiety scores significantly reduced, from 5 to 0 on a 10-point scale. Family members also experienced a significant reduction in their levels of anxiety, from 6 to 3. Over 60% of patients and almost 90% of family members experienced a two point or greater drop in their self-reported anxiety levels.

They also reported a significant reduction in patients’ reported pain levels, although the size of the effect was smaller, likely due to patients’ low pain baseline, suggesting that their pain was already well managed. However, no differences in their vital signs, including heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure, were observed.

The future of dogs in hospitals

The study’s findings add to the growing body of scientific evidence supporting the integration of dogs into hospital settings, even with vulnerable patients. Over the course of the experiment, no adverse events were recorded, which is reassuring for hospitals and healthcare professionals.

However, further research is needed to fix some of the study’s shortcomings. Most notably, the design did not include a control group, which means we cannot be sure that the changes in anxiety and pain would not have occurred without the presence of a dog. Although it does provide proof of concept, with no negative effects being reported, which opens the door to the IUC for dogs in the future.

Key study findings:

• Patients’ and family members’ self-reported anxiety significantly reduced
• Patients’ self-reported pain levels significantly reduced
• No changes to patients’ vital signs were observed