StressNCT03849144
The Effect of a Therapy Dog Activity on Employees' Stress, Mood, and Job Satisfaction and Commitment
A study testing Therapy dog activity and Low impact exercise in people with Stress and Mood, run by Virginia Commonwealth University.
Trial summary
The goal of the current study is to determine if participating in a therapy dog activity is associated with changes in perceived stress, mood, and job satisfaction and commitment. A secondary goal is to explore a potential dose effect of multiple treatments as well as control for novelty effect. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Stress, Mood, Job Satisfaction
- What is being tested?
- Therapy dog activity and Low impact exercise
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 0 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- 15 Mar 2019to 12 Jul 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
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Current Aetna employees
Who cannot join
- Individuals not employed by Aetna. Note:employees are self-selecting to participate, therefore dog fears or allergies are not listed as exclusion criteria.
About this study
The goal of the current study is to determine if participating in a therapy dog activity is associated with changes in perceived stress, mood, and job satisfaction and commitment. A secondary goal is to explore a potential dose effect of multiple treatments as well as control for novelty effect.
Read the detailed description
This study will be conducted at Aetna Headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut. A pre-post repeated measures design will be used to compare study participant outcomes between a treatment (therapy dog activity) and comparison (low impact physical activity) condition. Outcome variables of interest are perceived stress measured by a stress visual analog scale (SVAS), mood measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and job satisfaction and commitment measured by an investigator-developed Job Satisfaction Survey (consisting of a combination of existing validated scales). Pet ownership, attitudes toward dogs measured by the Dog Attitude Scale, and trait stress, measured by the Perceived Stress Scale, will be assessed as moderating variables.
- Conditions
- Stress, Mood, Job Satisfaction
- Being tested
- Therapy dog activity, Low impact exercise
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Therapy dog activityBehavioural
Visiting therapy dogs and their owners, evaluated and registered as therapy dog teams with Pet Partners will be spread around a large room on the Aetna campus. Employees will arrive at scheduled times to visit with the dogs for 15 minutes, talking to the dogs and owners and petting the dogs
Low impact exerciseBehavioural
The low impact exercise will consist of stretching exercises conducted by a member of Aetna's wellness team in the same room for 15 minutes.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Therapy dog activity | Experimental | Interact with visiting therapy dogs for 15 minutes on two Fridays Receives: Behavioral: Therapy dog activity |
| Low impact physical activity | Active comparator | Participate in 15-minute low impact physical activity on two Fridays Receives: Behavioral: Low impact exercise |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Single Item Stress Measure
Changes in self reported stress on visual analog scale (VAS) immediately before and after each activity. Scale ranges from "none" to "most severe imaginable" on 15 cm scale.
Measured: Baseline to week 3
20-item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
Self reported mood immediately before and after each activity. Each item is scored 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). 10 items comprise the positive affect scale with scores ranging from 10 - 50, with higher scores indicating higher positive affect. 10 items comprise the negative affect scale with total scores ranging from 10 - 50, with lower scores indicating lower negative affect.
Measured: Baseline to week 3
Secondary outcomes (3)
Single Item Stress Measure
Changes in self reported stress on visual analog scale (VAS) after two intervention activities. Scale ranges from "none" to "most severe imaginable" on 15 cm scale.
Measured: Baseline to week 5
20-item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
Self reported mood two intervention activities. Each item is scored 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). 10 items comprise the positive affect scale with scores ranging from 10 - 50, with higher scores indicating higher positive affect. 10 items comprise the negative affect scale with total scores ranging from 10 - 50, with lower scores indicating lower negative affect.
Measured: Baseline to week 5
9-item Job Satisfaction and Commitment Scale
Self reported job satisfaction ( 3 items) and commitment (6 items) at baseline, after the first and last activity. Each item is scored 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Total scores range from 9-45 with higher scores indicating greater job satisfaction and commitment
Measured: Baseline to week 5
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted21 Feb 2019
- Study start15 Mar 2019 (estimated)
- Primary completion10 May 2019 (estimated)
- Study completion12 Jul 2019 (estimated)
Why it stopped: Sponsor and facility unable to reach agreement before study timeline expired
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 Virginia Commonwealth 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
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 0 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Pet Partners, Aetna, Inc.
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Sandra Barker, PhD, Principal investigator, Virginia Commonwealth University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03849144
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- HM20014106
- Status last verified
- Oct 2024
- First submitted
- 21 Nov 2018
- Last updated
- 15 Oct 2024
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Oct 2024. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effect of a Therapy Dog Activity on Employees' Stress, Mood, and Job Satisfaction and Commitment
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03849144
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- HM20014106
- Conditions
- Stress, Mood, Job Satisfaction
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- WithdrawnReason stopped: Sponsor and facility unable to reach agreement before study timeline expired
- Enrolment
- 0 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Virginia Commonwealth UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Pet Partners, Aetna, Inc.
- Study start
- 15 Mar 2019 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 10 May 2019 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 12 Jul 2019 (estimated)
- First posted
- 21 Feb 2019 (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 goal of the current study is to determine if participating in a therapy dog activity is associated with changes in perceived stress, mood, and job satisfaction and commitment. A secondary goal is to explore a potential dose effect of multiple treatments as well as control for novelty effect.
Detailed description
This study will be conducted at Aetna Headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut. A pre-post repeated measures design will be used to compare study participant outcomes between a treatment (therapy dog activity) and comparison (low impact physical activity) condition. Outcome variables of interest are perceived stress measured by a stress visual analog scale (SVAS), mood measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and job satisfaction and commitment measured by an investigator-developed Job Satisfaction Survey (consisting of a combination of existing validated scales). Pet ownership, attitudes toward dogs measured by the Dog Attitude Scale, and trait stress, measured by the Perceived Stress Scale, will be assessed as moderating variables.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Therapy dog activity | Experimental | Behavioral: Therapy dog activityInteract with visiting therapy dogs for 15 minutes on two Fridays |
| Low impact physical activity | Active comparator | Behavioral: Low impact exerciseParticipate in 15-minute low impact physical activity on two Fridays |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Current Aetna employees
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Individuals not employed by Aetna. Note:employees are self-selecting to participate, therefore dog fears or allergies are not listed as exclusion criteria.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Therapy dog activityVisiting therapy dogs and their owners, evaluated and registered as therapy dog teams with Pet Partners will be spread around a large room on the Aetna campus. Employees will arrive at scheduled times to visit with the dogs for 15 minutes, talking to the dogs and owners and petting the dogs | Behavioural | Therapy dog activity |
| Low impact exerciseThe low impact exercise will consist of stretching exercises conducted by a member of Aetna's wellness team in the same room for 15 minutes. | Behavioural | Low impact physical activity |
Primary outcome
Single Item Stress Measure
Time frame: Baseline to week 3
Changes in self reported stress on visual analog scale (VAS) immediately before and after each activity. Scale ranges from "none" to "most severe imaginable" on 15 cm scale.
20-item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
Time frame: Baseline to week 3
Self reported mood immediately before and after each activity. Each item is scored 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). 10 items comprise the positive affect scale with scores ranging from 10 - 50, with higher scores indicating higher positive affect. 10 items comprise the negative affect scale with total scores ranging from 10 - 50, with lower scores indicating lower negative affect.
3 secondary outcomes
Single Item Stress Measure
Time frame: Baseline to week 5
20-item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
Time frame: Baseline to week 5
9-item Job Satisfaction and Commitment Scale
Time frame: Baseline to week 5
Results and safety
The study was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Oct 2024.
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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.
Sandra Barker, PhD principal investigator
Virginia Commonwealth University
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Therapy dog activity and Low impact exercise in people with Stress and Mood, run by Virginia Commonwealth University.
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 1 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: withdrawn, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Oct 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
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 was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.
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?
Single Item Stress Measure (time frame: Baseline to week 3). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. 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 15 Oct 2024.