Canine companionship helps calm children undergoing cancer treatment, Research suggests

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/aaop-rsc101615.php

Public Release: 23-Oct-2015
Research suggests canine companionship helps calm children undergoing cancer treatment
Ongoing study of animal assisted interventions at five hospitals fetches first solid data showing how therapy dogs can affect the stress levels of pediatric cancer patients and their parents
American Academy of Pediatrics

Although survival rates for children diagnosed with cancer have increased dramatically over the past 40 years, hard evidence of proven psychosocial benefits to improve quality of life among patients and families during treatment has remained elusive.

Many hospitals have therapy dogs who visit with patients, and anecdotal evidence underscores the positive impact these programs have on children with cancer and their families. Preliminary findings from a new, multi-center trial provides some of the first quantitative data to validate these claims.

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Preliminary findings show that blood pressure readings in the group receiving animal-assisted interventions remains more stable across all sessions than in the control group, said lead researcher Amy McCullough, Ph.D., National Director of Humane Research and Therapy for the American Humane Association. Similarly, there was a higher degree of variability in heart rate within the control group patients than with the treatment group patients.

"These findings suggest that the dog may have a calming effect on the patient," Dr. McCullough said.

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