By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Pet therapy has long been used in a variety of medical settings to help patients feel better – from nursing homes and hospice care to pediatric wards and cancer centers. And now, for the first time, there’s evidence that therapy dogs can significantly reduce pain, anxiety and depression in emergency department patients.

A Canadian research team at the University of Saskatchewan randomly selected nearly 200 ED patients who were waiting to be treated or admitted at Saskatoon's Royal University Hospital. Half of the participants spent 10 minutes with a therapy dog and its handler, while the other half received standard care without a dog visit.

The study findings, recently published in PLOS ONE,  showed that nearly half the patients visited by a therapy dog reported a decrease in pain (43%), with similar improvements in anxiety (48%), depression (46%) and overall well-being (41%). The dog visits had no significant effect on heart rate or blood pressure.

“Clinically significant changes in pain as well as significant changes in anxiety, depression and well-being were observed in the therapy dog intervention compared to control. The findings of this novel study contribute important knowledge towards the potential value of ED therapy dogs to affect patients’ experience of pain, and related measures of anxiety, depression and well-being,” wrote lead author Colleen Dell, PhD, a sociology professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

Pain is the most common reason that someone visits an emergency department, so the finding that therapy dogs can decrease pain levels is notable – particularly because most patients in the study (77%) did not receive any pain medication.

Many people with pain dread the idea of going to an emergency room, fearing that their pain won’t be treated properly. In a PNN survey of nearly 1,300 acute and chronic pain patients, over 80% said hospital staff are not adequately trained in pain management and over half rated the quality of their pain care in hospitals as poor or very poor. Nearly eight out of ten patients felt they were labelled as an addict or drug seeker by hospital staff.

Dell and her colleagues are well aware of the stress a pain patient can experience when visiting an emergency department, particularly in an era when the use of opioid medication is discouraged. Long waits, bright lighting and high noise levels may also make it difficult for ED patients to relax. They think therapy dogs could be useful in improving the patient experience.

“With adequate access to pharmaceutical pain management a concern for ED patients, as well as long wait times, it will be important to explore creative, non-pharmaceutical options,” said Dell. “Patient waiting has also been associated with negative emotional states and well-being in ED patients. Negative feelings, particularly anxiety and stress, can be intensified when patients encounter uncertainty regarding their pain.

“The role of therapy dog visits in decreasing patients’ perceived pain, whether as a distraction or by some other mode, is an important finding that should be examined further in both practice and research.”      

The benefits of having a pet are well known to most pet owners. A 2019 survey of over 2,000 older Americans found that pets helped them enjoy life, made them feel loved, kept them physically active and reduced stress. Pet ownership was particularly helpful to those who rated their health as fair or poor. More than 70 percent of those older adults said pets help them cope with physical or emotional problems, and nearly half (46%) said their pets help distract them from pain.