Companion Dog Walking for ICU Survivor Health

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a randomized controlled trial comparing a pet dog walking intervention to an attention control education intervention in adult intensive care unit survivors.

The main question\[s\] it aims to answer are:

* What is the feasibility of a pet dog-walking intervention compared to an attention control education intervention on depression, anxiety, cortisol, and quality of life for adult ICU survivors.
* What is the acceptability of a pet dog-walking intervention compared to an attention control education intervention on depression, anxiety, cortisol, and quality of life for adult ICU survivors.

The secondary question\[s\] it aims to answer are:

\- What are the differences in depression, anxiety, serum cortisol, and quality of life between and within a companion dog walking intervention compared to an attention control education intervention for ICU survivors?

Participants in the intervention group will be asked to:

* Participate in dog walking with their pet dog at least three times per week, for at least 10 minutes each walk, for 8-weeks.
* Wear an activity monitor and record their dog walks in a diary.
* Complete surveys to measure depression, anxiety, and quality of life at the start of the study, after week 4, and after week 8.
* Have blood drawn to measure cortisol levels at the start of the study, after week 4, and after week 8.

Participants in the control group will be asked to:

* Read educational materials about their pet dog's health once every week (education materials are provided by the researchers).
* Wear an activity monitor and record when they read their education materials in a diary.
* Complete surveys to measure depression, anxiety, and quality of life at the start of the study, after week 4, and after week 8.
* Have blood drawn to measure cortisol levels at the start of the study, after week 4, and after week 8.

Participants will be assigned to an intervention group or a control group to see if there are differences in depression, anxiety, serum cortisol, and quality of life.

Conditions

• Post Intensive Care Syndrome
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Quality of Life

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Companion Dog Walking

Participants will be asked to walk their dog three times per week, for a minimum of 30 minutes each day of walking, over an 8-week period.

BEHAVIORAL

Attention Control Group

Participants will be asked to read educational materials on dog health once per week, over an 8-week period.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Missouri, Kansas City

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lindsey Nelson, MSN, RN · University of Missouri, Kansas City

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-05-15

Primary Completion

2024-05-01

Completion

2024-05-01

Countries

• United States

Study Locations