Animal-Assisted Therapy Combined With Standard Rehabilitation for Motor Recovery in Dementia Patients in a Medical and Rehabilitation Care Unit

Summary

The goal of this randomized study is to find out if animal-assisted therapy (AAT) - a structured program where trained animals take part in care sessions guided by health professionals - can help improve movement abilities in older adults with dementia or memory-related conditions who are staying in a medical rehabilitation unit.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

* Can adding animal-assisted therapy to standard rehabilitation improve participants' movement and motor abilities better than standard rehabilitation alone?
* Can this combined approach help participants stay more independent in daily activities?
* Can this combined approach improve participants' quality of life?
* Can this combined approach reduce the risk of falls?

Researchers will compare two groups:

* Group 1 (experimental): Standard rehabilitation + animal-assisted therapy sessions with a trained dog and/or rabbits
* Group 2 (control): Standard rehabilitation alone

Both groups attend 2 one-hour rehabilitation sessions per week for 4 weeks.

Participants will:

* Complete movement and daily-life ability tests at the start and end of the study
* Attend 8 rehabilitation sessions (over 4 weeks)
* Participants in the animal therapy group will interact with a trained dog and/or rabbits during sessions, guided by a certified nurse-animal therapist, a psychomotor therapist, and a nursing assistant
* Be assessed at the end of the 4-week program (Week 6) to measure any changes in motor abilities, independence, quality of life, and fall risk

Conditions

• Dementia
• Cognitive Dysfunction ( MMSE < 24 )
• Motor Skills Disorders

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Animal-Assisted Therapy

Structured AAT sessions integrating psychomotor rehabilitation, delivered by a certified nurse-animal therapist, psychomotor therapist, and nursing assistant. Frequency: 2 sessions × 1 hour/week for 4 weeks (8 sessions). Individualized therapeutic motor objectives defined before first session. Each session: (1) welcome/emotions check-in; (2) animal introduction and contact; (3) motor exercises across 5 domains: global motor function, balance/posture, fine motor skills/praxis, body schema, sensory-motor stimulation; (4) session debrief. Animals: 1 dog and/or 2-4 rabbits. Maximum 2 participants per session.

BEHAVIORAL

Standard psychomotor rehabilitation

Group psychomotor rehabilitation sessions led by the establishment's certified psychomotor therapist. Frequency: 2 group sessions × 1 hour/week for 4 weeks (8 sessions total). Sessions address fine and manual motor skills, static and dynamic coordination, posture, muscle tone, and praxis. Participants also receive individualized physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and adapted physical activity as part of standard geriatric rehabilitation care.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• LNA SANTE

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Rodrigue DR SAGBO · Institut Médical de Sologne LNA Santé

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-09-30

Primary Completion

2027-12-31

Completion

2027-12-31

Countries

• France

Study Locations