NCT02629302

Effects of Animal Assisted Therapy on Patients With Severe Disorders of Consciousness

Effects of Animal-assisted Therapy in Patients With Severe Disorders of Consciousness at REHAB Basel: a Randomised-controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 10 (actual)
• Sponsor: Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 17 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The study investigates the effects of animal-assisted therapy on patients with severe disorders of consciousness. The focus lies on the short-term biopsychosocial effects that occur when animals are present during therapy sessions in comparison to therapy sessions without animals, observing a group of 10 patients during 16 therapy sessions. While half of the sessions are held in presence of an animal and half without, they are as comparable as possible with respect to content and setting. In this study, patients in a minimal conscious state are recruited.

Detailed description

This pilot study is designed as a controlled cross-over, within-subject trial with repeated measurement. The experimental condition is the standardised therapy session using therapy animals (AAT), while the control condition is the comparable "standard" therapy session without the presence of an animal. Over a period of four weeks, patients have four standardised therapy sessions per week, that alternate in a way that two sessions in two consecutive weeks are similar except for one is with the presence of animals and one without. In this way, data is collected over 16 therapy sessions (8 experimental, 8 control) for each patient. Each therapy session lasts about 20 minutes. The study takes place at REHAB Basel. Animal-assisted therapies are held in a special room at REHAB Basel in the presence of one or more small animals that will be selected by the therapist. Patients are allocated randomly to start with either the experimental or the control condition.

Conditions

• Disorder of Consciousness

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	animal assisted therapy	physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy in the presence of an animal
OTHER	standard therapy	standard physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-01-01
• Primary completion: 2017-04-01
• Completion: 2017-04-01
• First posted: 2015-12-14
• Last updated: 2018-05-17

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Switzerland