NCT03777020

Service Dog Training Program for Military Veterans With PTSD

Evaluating the Efficacy of a Service Dog Training Program for Military Veterans With PTSD

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Maryland, Baltimore · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an invisible wound of war, affects approximately 20%1 of the 18.5 million U.S. veterans and places them at higher risk for impaired biopsychosocial functioning. PTSD symptom severity (PTSDSS) is significantly correlated with stress and psychosocial consequences of inability to regulate emotions, control impulsive behaviors, and function within family and society. Alarming veteran PTSD rates and its insidious effects demand empirically validated treatment programs. More than a million veterans receive new diagnoses of each year. VA PTSD therapy programs reach only 1% of veterans. Nearly 35% of veterans do not respond to widely used psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy treatments. Training a service dog (SD) is a novel rehabilitative animal-assisted intervention that shows promise in other populations. This project evaluates the efficacy of a service dog training program (SDTP) as an alternative and adjunctive treatment and rehabilitative option for veterans with PTSD.

Detailed description

Veterans with PTSD attend 8 weekly sessions of either training a service dog or learning about how to train a dog at the Warrior Canine Connection facility in Boyds MD. They complete questionnaires prior to the start of the program and at the midpoint (after 4 sessions) and end of the program (after 8 sessions). Participants also wear a monitor to record heart rate variability during the 1st, 4th, and 8th sessions and provide saliva samples at these same times.

Conditions

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Service Dog Training Program	Participate in 8 weekly dog training sessions using a positive reinforcement method and curriculum under the direct supervision of trainer at the Warrior Canine Connection facility in Boyds (Montgomery County) MD.
OTHER	Dog Training Education	Learn about training dogs by watching 8 weekly dog training online modules programs at the Warrior Canine Connection facility in Boyds (Montgomery County) MD. After completing this education the participants will participate in the service dog training program.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-08-22
• Primary completion: 2023-02-28
• Completion: 2023-02-28
• First posted: 2018-12-17
• Last updated: 2024-07-26
• Results posted: 2024-07-26

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States