StressCANINE IINCT03628820
Canine Assisted Therapy to Reduce Emergency Care Provider Stress
A study testing Dog Therapy and Coloring in people with Stress and Anxiety, run by Indiana University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The main study hypothesis is that emergency healthcare workers on shift who interact for 5 min with a therapy dog and handler will have lower perceived and manifested stress response compared with use of a time out that includes voluntary use of a coloring mandalas. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- What is being tested?
- Dog Therapy and Coloring
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 119 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 17 May 2018to 9 Aug 2019
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Inclusion criteria require that participants work full time as either a nurse or physician in the Eskenazi emergency department and are willing to consent to participation.
- Participants will include residents, faculty and nurses who work in the emergency department
Who cannot join
- Exclusions include any reported prior fear or adverse reaction to dogs
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
The main study hypothesis is that emergency healthcare workers on shift who interact for 5 min with a therapy dog and handler will have lower perceived and manifested stress response compared with use of a time out that includes voluntary use of a coloring mandalas. The work will also address two exploratory hypotheses: The first is that salivary cortisol will correlate significantly with perceived stress and will increase from beginning to end of shift, and that exposure to a therapy dog will blunt this increase. The second exploratory hypothesis states that participants who interact with a therapy dog will display more empathic behaviors.
- Being tested
- Dog Therapy, Coloring
- Keywords
- Stress, Anxiety, Cortisol, Therapy, Dog, Coloring, Mandala
- Medical subject headings
- Anxiety Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Dog TherapyBehavioural
5 minutes spent with therapy dog during shift
ColoringBehavioural
5 minutes spend coloring mandalas during shift
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Therapy Dog | Experimental | This group is exposed to the therapy dog and handler. On a convenience sample of shifts, a dog will be available. Participants will not know when dogs will be present and will not be informed of whether or not they will see a dog on any given shift. The dog and handler will be kept out of site of other providers. Participants who agree to participate will be approached by study personnel between 3 and 7 hours into his or her shift and asked "would now be a good time to see a therapy dog?" If the physician answers yes, then the physician will be escorted to a separate private, quiet room away from the usual work area to interact with a therapy dog and handler. We will ask the physician to spend approximately 5 minutes with the therapy dog, but will not specify or mandate any time. Study personnel will record the time spent. Only the handler and dog will be present in the room. Receives: Behavioral: Dog Therapy |
| Mandala Coloring | Experimental | This group is not exposed to the therapy dog or handler. At 3-7 hours into the shift, study personnel will encourage providers to take a 5 min period of mindfulness, achieved by coloring mandalas. Participants will be escorted out of the work area to the same private, quiet room where the interaction occurs with the dog and handler in the therapy dog group. Participants will have their choice of one of three mandalas to color and will be provided a full palette of colored pencils. When the provider's time is up, study personnel will notify them of the five minute period. Study personnel will not be present in the room but will photograph the work when the participant is done with the session and record the image in REDcap. The original art work will be returned to the provider. Receives: Behavioral: Coloring |
| No Intervention | No intervention | This group is not exposed to the therapy dog or handler. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Cortisol change
Time and location of shift and times of each measurement. T1: As soon as practicable at shift start: Baseline perceived stress scale and anxiety scale (shown below) and approximately 100 uL of saliva using a commercial kit (Salimetrics® 1-3002 (5PK 1-3002-5)). Saliva is collected > 10 min after any eating or drinking. T2: Repeat perceived stress scale, anxiety scale and saliva approximately 15-30 min after exposure to the dog and handler or the coloring.
Scale 0 to 10
0=balanced mood 2=slight fear and worry 4= mild fear and worry 6=moderate worry, physical agitation 8= strong agitation, pacing, can't sit still 10= out of control behavior, self-harm
Measured: 4 hours
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted14 Aug 2018
- Study start17 May 2018
- Primary completion9 Aug 2019
- Study completion9 Aug 2019
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for StressStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Indiana UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 119 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Indiana University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Jeffrey Kline, Indiana University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03628820
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1804891471
- Acronym
- CANINE II
- Status last verified
- Feb 2020
- First submitted
- 18 Jul 2018
- Last updated
- 17 Feb 2020
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 17 Feb 2020. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Canine Assisted Therapy to Reduce Emergency Care Provider Stress
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03628820
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- CANINE II / 1804891471
- Keywords
- Stress, Anxiety, Cortisol, Therapy, Dog, Coloring, Mandala
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 119 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Indiana UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 17 May 2018 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 9 Aug 2019 (actual)
- Study completion
- 9 Aug 2019 (actual)
- First posted
- 14 Aug 2018 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The main study hypothesis is that emergency healthcare workers on shift who interact for 5 min with a therapy dog and handler will have lower perceived and manifested stress response compared with use of a time out that includes voluntary use of a coloring mandalas. The work will also address two exploratory hypotheses: The first is that salivary cortisol will correlate significantly with perceived stress and will increase from beginning to end of shift, and that exposure to a therapy dog will blunt this increase. The second exploratory hypothesis states that participants who interact with a therapy dog will display more empathic behaviors.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Therapy Dog | Experimental | Behavioral: Dog TherapyThis group is exposed to the therapy dog and handler. On a convenience sample of shifts, a dog will be available. Participants will not know when dogs will be present and will not be informed of whether or not they will see a dog on any given shift. The dog and handler will be kept out of site of other providers. Participants who agree to participate will be approached by study personnel between 3 and 7 hours into his or her shift and asked "would now be a good time to see a therapy dog?" If the physician answers yes, then the physician will be escorted to a separate private, quiet room away from the usual work area to interact with a therapy dog and handler. We will ask the physician to spend approximately 5 minutes with the therapy dog, but will not specify or mandate any time. Study personnel will record the time spent. Only the handler and dog will be present in the room. |
| Mandala Coloring | Experimental | Behavioral: ColoringThis group is not exposed to the therapy dog or handler. At 3-7 hours into the shift, study personnel will encourage providers to take a 5 min period of mindfulness, achieved by coloring mandalas. Participants will be escorted out of the work area to the same private, quiet room where the interaction occurs with the dog and handler in the therapy dog group. Participants will have their choice of one of three mandalas to color and will be provided a full palette of colored pencils. When the provider's time is up, study personnel will notify them of the five minute period. Study personnel will not be present in the room but will photograph the work when the participant is done with the session and record the image in REDcap. The original art work will be returned to the provider. |
| No Intervention | No intervention | –This group is not exposed to the therapy dog or handler. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Inclusion criteria require that participants work full time as either a nurse or physician in the Eskenazi emergency department and are willing to consent to participation.
- Participants will include residents, faculty and nurses who work in the emergency department
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Exclusions include any reported prior fear or adverse reaction to dogs
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Dog Therapy5 minutes spent with therapy dog during shift | Behavioural | Therapy Dog |
| Coloring5 minutes spend coloring mandalas during shift | Behavioural | Mandala Coloring |
Primary outcome
Cortisol change
Time frame: 4 hours
Time and location of shift and times of each measurement. T1: As soon as practicable at shift start: Baseline perceived stress scale and anxiety scale (shown below) and approximately 100 uL of saliva using a commercial kit (Salimetrics® 1-3002 (5PK 1-3002-5)). Saliva is collected > 10 min after any eating or drinking. T2: Repeat perceived stress scale, anxiety scale and saliva approximately 15-30 min after exposure to the dog and handler or the coloring. Scale 0 to 10 0=balanced mood 2=slight fear and worry 4= mild fear and worry 6=moderate worry, physical agitation 8= strong agitation, pacing, can't sit still 10= out of control behavior, self-harm
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 17 Feb 2020.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Dog Therapy and Coloring in people with Stress and Anxiety, run by Indiana University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 Feb 2020. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Cortisol change (time frame: 4 hours). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 17 Feb 2020; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 7 Nov 2026.