Animal Assisted Therapy After Pediatric Brain Injury: Mediators and Moderators of Treatment Response.

Launched by CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER, CINCINNATI · Feb 17, 2022

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how involving dogs in physical and occupational therapies can help children and teenagers recover from brain injuries. Many young patients struggle to engage in their rehabilitation, which is important for their recovery. By bringing therapy dogs into these sessions, the researchers hope to see if this makes therapy more enjoyable and helps kids participate more actively. They also want to find out which children might benefit the most from having dogs involved in their treatment.

To participate in this study, children aged 4 to 21 who are receiving inpatient rehabilitation for an acquired brain injury (like a traumatic brain injury or a brain tumor) may be eligible. Their parents or guardians need to provide consent, and the children must agree to participate as well. However, children with significant allergies to dogs, a strong fear of dogs, or certain medical conditions that could be risky when interacting with a dog cannot participate. Participants can expect to engage in therapy sessions that include dogs, which could make the experience more enjoyable and possibly improve their recovery process. This trial aims to gather important information that could help improve rehabilitation methods for children in the future.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Diagnosis: Participants must be admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation unit for treatment of an acquired brain injury (TBI, brain tumor, infection, etc).
• • Consent: The family must provide informed consent by parents or legal guardians.
• • Assent: The child/adolescent must provide a signature indicating assent to participate in the study.
• • Age at the time of screening: 4-21 years old
• • Sex: includes both males and females
• • Responsiveness: Rancho score greater than 2 at the time of enrollment (as noted in the medical chart).
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Allergies: Patient has a significant allergy to dogs
• • Fear: Patient has a significant fear of dogs
• • Disease: Participant is on contact precautions or has a communicable disease that may pose a risk to the dog or dog handler or has a compromised immune system where interacting with the dog and/or handler would be of significant risk to the patient.
• • Medical History: History of developmental delay prior to ABI.
• • Behavioral History: Participant or family has a history of animal abuse or cruelty.
• • Responsiveness: Rancho score of 2 or less