Service Dog Training Program for Military Veterans With PTSD

University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Treatments: Other: Dog Training Education; Behavioral: Service Dog Training Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03777020

HP-00083872

Details and patient eligibility

About

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an invisible wound of war, affects approximately 20%1 of the 18.5 million U.S. veterans and places them at higher risk for impaired biopsychosocial functioning. PTSD symptom severity (PTSDSS) is significantly correlated with stress and psychosocial consequences of inability to regulate emotions, control impulsive behaviors, and function within family and society. Alarming veteran PTSD rates and its insidious effects demand empirically validated treatment programs. More than a million veterans receive new diagnoses of each year. VA PTSD therapy programs reach only 1% of veterans. Nearly 35% of veterans do not respond to widely used psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy treatments. Training a service dog (SD) is a novel rehabilitative animal-assisted intervention that shows promise in other populations. This project evaluates the efficacy of a service dog training program (SDTP) as an alternative and adjunctive treatment and rehabilitative option for veterans with PTSD.

Full description

Veterans with PTSD attend 8 weekly sessions of either training a service dog or learning about how to train a dog at the Warrior Canine Connection facility in Boyds MD. They complete questionnaires prior to the start of the program and at the midpoint (after 4 sessions) and end of the program (after 8 sessions). Participants also wear a monitor to record heart rate variability during the 1st, 4th, and 8th sessions and provide saliva samples at these same times.

Enrollment: 60 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Accepted into the Warrior Canine Connection Service Dog Training Program. Their inclusion criteria are:

   1. military veteran;
   2. diagnosis of PTSD;
   3. able to give informed consent; and
   4. able to understand English; And

2. Military Veteran

Exclusion Criteria:

Excluded from the Warrior Canine Connection Service Dog Training Program. Their criteria are:

1. fear of dogs;
2. allergy to pet dander;
3. active substance abuse;
4. active psychosis, or
5. history of animal abuse
6. Excluded by the WCC from participation in their Service Dog Training Program because they have:

fear of dogs; allergy to pet dander; active substance abuse; active psychosis, history of animal abuse or physically unable to complete tasks required to train dogs

.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 2 patient groups

Service Dog Training Program (SDTP)

Experimental group

Description:

Veterans randomized to the SDTP will be paired with an experienced Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR)-Trainer (MBRT-T) and a service dog (SD). One hour training modules will be scheduled once a week for 8 weeks. Participants will come to WCC for all the weekly training modules. Participants will be paired with the same SD for the duration of the SDTP unless an unforeseen circumstance arises and the SD needs to be removed from the SDTP. The MBTR-T will deliver the prescribed SDTP modules created by WCC. Each session will be fully supervised by a WCC MBTR-T to address any concerns or safety issues that may arise.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Service Dog Training Program

Dog Training Education

Other group

Description:

Veterans randomized to Dog Training Education will participate in one hour online SD training modules (https://e-trainingfordogs.com) scheduled once a week for 8 weeks. The online training modules are delivered by experienced SD trainers and will employ parallel content to the WCC SDTP. Participants will come to the WCC site for all the weekly online training modules. Members of the WLCI group will have education about dog training, but NO interaction with a SD. The online training modules for the DTE group are intended to keep the veterans who are not immediately assigned to the SDTP engaged in the study. They will participate in the SDTP after conclusion of participation in the 8 week study.

Treatment:

Other: Dog Training Education