Companion Dog Walking for ICU Survivor Health (POOCH)

University of Missouri, Kansas City

Status: Completed

Conditions: Quality of Life; Post Intensive Care Syndrome; Depression; Anxiety

Treatments: Behavioral: Attention Control Group; Behavioral: Companion Dog Walking

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05820308

2094468

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a randomized controlled trial comparing a pet dog walking intervention to an attention control education intervention in adult intensive care unit survivors.

The main question[s] it aims to answer are:

• What is the feasibility of a pet dog-walking intervention compared to an attention control education intervention on depression, anxiety, cortisol, and quality of life for adult ICU survivors.
• What is the acceptability of a pet dog-walking intervention compared to an attention control education intervention on depression, anxiety, cortisol, and quality of life for adult ICU survivors.

The secondary question[s] it aims to answer are:

• What are the differences in depression, anxiety, serum cortisol, and quality of life between and within a companion dog walking intervention compared to an attention control education intervention for ICU survivors?

Participants in the intervention group will be asked to:

• Participate in dog walking with their pet dog at least three times per week, for at least 10 minutes each walk, for 8-weeks.
• Wear an activity monitor and record their dog walks in a diary.
• Complete surveys to measure depression, anxiety, and quality of life at the start of the study, after week 4, and after week 8.
• Have blood drawn to measure cortisol levels at the start of the study, after week 4, and after week 8.

Participants in the control group will be asked to:

• Read educational materials about their pet dog's health once every week (education materials are provided by the researchers).
• Wear an activity monitor and record when they read their education materials in a diary.
• Complete surveys to measure depression, anxiety, and quality of life at the start of the study, after week 4, and after week 8.
• Have blood drawn to measure cortisol levels at the start of the study, after week 4, and after week 8.

Participants will be assigned to an intervention group or a control group to see if there are differences in depression, anxiety, serum cortisol, and quality of life.

Enrollment: 6 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adult (≥18 years)
• ICU survivors (spent ≥24 hours in the ICU)
• Will be discharged directly home from hospital.
• Able to speak, read, and understand English
• Physically capable of dog walking
• Individuals who have symptoms of depression and/or anxiety
• Individuals who own a companion dog and walk their dog <10 minutes/week
• Participants scoring ≤ 20 seconds on the TUG Test

Exclusion criteria

• Individuals at high risk for suicide
• Individuals with severe depression or anxiety
• Individuals who recently started treatment for depression and/or anxiety
• Individuals with cognitive impairment
• Dog walking is deemed unsafe with and for the dog
• Medical Provider authorization is indicated but not provided
• Individuals who live outside a 45-mile radius of Colorado Springs.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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6 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention Group

Experimental group

Description:

Companion dog walking

Treatment:

Behavioral: Companion Dog Walking

Attention Control Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Educational resources about dog health

Treatment:

Behavioral: Attention Control Group