The Effect of Live Cat and Simulation Cat Therapies on Oncology Patients

Karadeniz Technical University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Happiness; Cancer Patient; Therapy-Associated Cancer; Symptoms

Treatments: Other: Pet therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06280612

RCS10042023

Details and patient eligibility

About

It is known that animals are good for humans physiologically and psychologically. Therefore, in this study, the effects of live cat and robotic cat therapies on the symptoms and happiness levels of oncology patients after chemotherapy were examined.

Full description

Cancer is a disease that requires a long-term struggle with the psychosocial and economic burden it creates on the individual, family and society, bringing with it many health problems. Although chemotherapy treatment is the main treatment method for patients, it can cause some changes in the individual's appearance while treating cancer and many symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, alopecia, and constipation after treatment. At the same time, patients may feel tired, sleepy and depressed after treatment. However, cancer patients and their families experiencing some unknown diagnosis and treatment processes related to cancer also cause them to be unhappy as a result of experiencing some physical, social, emotional and spiritual problems during the treatment.

It is reported in the literature that pet therapy or animal-assisted treatments reduce disease-related symptoms and make patients happy. Pet therapy is an auxiliary non-pharmacological form of treatment that heals physiological and psychological diseases through interactions between animals and humans that meet certain criteria, and stimulates and activates the body mechanisms required for the development of the individual's health behaviors. In the literature, pet therapy studies with oncology patients are quite limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effects of live cat and robotic cat therapies on the symptoms and happiness levels experienced by oncology patients after chemotherapy.

Enrollment: 45 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Criteria for admission to the study are 18≤ of age,
• Agreeing to participate in the research,
• Being conscious of receiving outpatient chemotherapy treatment for 3≤ months, and being able to communicate.
• The criteria included no impairment in mental and cognitive functions of patients/relatives in the live group,
• Patients in the live cat group not having any animal allergies, and the cat group having a cat.

Exclusion criteria

• Not agreeing to participate in the research,
• Being under 18 years of age,
• Having known psychological disorders, having a visual, hearing, or speech disability, and having an animal allergy.
• Also excluded are having a surgical wound (suture, drainage, etc.), neutropenia or severe infection (by resistant bacteria), fever, diarrhea, respiratory symptoms or vomiting during the week before the start of the study.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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45 participants in 3 patient groups

Live Cat Group

Experimental group

Description:

Before starting the study, the "Structured Patient Information Form," "Edmonton Symptom Diagnosis Scale," and "Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form" were applied to the patients. Then, the researcher gave the patients face-to-face, individual information about hand hygiene after contact with a live cat for approximately 15 minutes in the waiting room and offered them a "Live Cat Information Brochure." Patients were then asked to spend 20 minutes with a pet at home twice a week for 12 weeks. "Edmonton Symptom Diagnosis Scale" and "Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form" were applied to this group of patients three times: before, at the 6th week, and at the end of the 12th week of the study.

Treatment:

Other: Pet therapy

Robotic Cat Group

Experimental group

Description:

Before starting the study, the "Structured Patient Information Form," "Edmonton Symptom Diagnosis Scale," and "Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form" were applied to the patients. Then, the researcher gave the patients face-to-face information about the robotic cat "Silver" and its use for approximately 15 minutes in the waiting room and offered them a "Robotic Cat Information Brochure." In each pet therapy application, patients' hand hygiene and cleaning of the Robotic Cat was provided, the robot cat was given to the patients.

Treatment:

Other: Pet therapy

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

Before starting the study, the "Structured Patient Information Form", "Edmonton Symptom Diagnosis Scale", and "Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form" were applied to the patients. Treatment was given to this group of patients only after informing them about the study, and the patients were followed for only three months. "Edmonton Symptom Diagnosis Scale" and "Oxford Happiness Scale Short FormS" were applied to the patients three times: before, at the 6th week, and the end of the 12th week of the research.