Reactivation of a Hospital-Based Therapy Dog Visitation Program during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1. Barriers to Program Reactivation
1.2. Animal Welfare during Reactivation
1.3. Purpose of Current Study
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Therapy Dog/Handler Teams
Handler and Therapy Dog Characteristics
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Participant Role
2.2.2. Observed Gender
2.2.3. Total Visit Time
2.2.4. Time Spent in Volunteer Services (VS)
2.2.5. Interaction Characteristics
2.2.6. “Love Bombing”
2.2.7. Floor
2.2.8. Location
2.2.9. Hand Sanitizer Use
2.2.10. “Drive-Bys”
2.3. Procedure
2.3.1. Data Collection
2.3.2. Study Design
2.3.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Handler and Dog Characteristics
3.2. Participant Role and Observed Gender
3.3. Total Visit Time
3.4. Interaction Characteristics
3.4.1. Interaction Type
3.4.2. Interaction Time
3.4.3. Number of People per Interaction
3.5. Love Bombing
3.6. Floors
3.7. Location
3.8. Hand Sanitizer Use
3.9. Drive-Bys
4. Discussion
4.1. Program Impact on Visit Recipients
4.2. Strategies for Maintaining Human and Animal Welfare
4.3. Challenges during Program Reactivation
4.4. Visit Recipient Characteristics
4.5. Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
References
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Pre-COVID-19 | Additions during COVID-19 | |
---|---|---|
Handler | Varicella (vaccine or titer) | COVID-19 vaccine |
MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) (vaccine or titer) | COVID-19 booster | |
Annual flu vaccine | Level 3 face mask | |
Tuberculosis screening | Face shield or goggles | |
Temperature measurement and respiratory symptom checklist upon hospital entry | ||
Dog | Registration with Pet Partners or Alliance of Therapy Dogs w/Canine Good Citizen Test | Reactivation shadowing |
Annual veterinary exam | Canine stress evaluation by program staff | |
Vaccine or titer for: rabies, distemper, and parvovirus | Three one-hour reactivation visits for reacclimation | |
Negative annual fecal exam | ||
Two-hour visit limit | ||
Visit Protocol | Hand sanitizer before/after touching dog | No entry into COVID+ (“Hot”) zones |
Contact tracing | Remain at home if exposed to COVID-19 virus or experiencing respiratory symptoms |
Common Areas | Areas which all persons in the hospital (staff, visitors, volunteers, etc.) are free to use (with the exception of food service areas where teams do not visit) |
Inpatient/Inpatient Support | Floors that provide general medical care and an array of services such as respiratory therapy, trauma treatment, cardiac care, orthopedics, intensive care, etc. |
Pediatric | Floors that specialize in the treatment of pediatric patients including the Children’s Hospital of Richmond |
ICU | Floors that specialize in the treatment of patients with critical illness or injury |
Volunteer Services | Volunteer service office where Dogs on Call teams sign in and out before and after hospital visits |
Gateway | The Gateway Building serves as VCU Medical Center’s “front door” and houses some of its outpatient services. Check-in and waiting areas for surgical services are located on the 5th floor of this building |
Emergency Department | Department that provides immediate treatment for life threatening or time-sensitive health concerns |
Nelson Clinic | Various outpatient services such as OB/GYN & Women’s Health, Outpatient Eye Clinic, and dental care are housed here |
West Hospital | West Hospital houses clinical, administrative, and support services for VCU Medical Center, as well as academic and administrative offices of VCU’s School of Medicine and College of Health Professions |
Psychiatric, Palliative Care | These departments share the same floor. Psychiatry treats those suffering from mental illness. Palliative care refers to end-of-life treatment |
Dog | Age (Years) | Sex | Breed | Height (cm) | Weight (kg) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | - | Female | Labradoodle | - | - |
2 | 4 | Female | Golden Retriever | 71.12 | 27.22 |
3 | 10 | Male | Mixed Breed (Large Terrier/Wolfhound) | 78.74 | 27.22 |
4 | 11 | Male | English Cream Golden Retriever | 71.12 | 26.76 |
5 | 3 | Male | English Cream Golden Retriever | 71.12 | 29.94 |
6 | 9 | Female | Leonberger | 88.90 | 41.73 |
7 | 4 | Male | Mixed Breed (Terrier x) | 30.48 | 7.26 |
8 | 13 | Male | Irish Setter | 66.04 | 29.48 |
9 | 9 | Female | Irish Setter | 68.58 | 29.48 |
10 | 10 | Female | Pembroke Welsh Corgi | 38.10 | 11.34 |
11 | 12 | Male | Mixed Breed (Lab/Pug/Boxer) | 60.96 | 21.77 |
12 | 7 | Female | Golden Doodle | 76.20 | 27.22 |
13 | 8 | Male | Shih Tzu | 38.10 | 8.16 |
14 | 7 | Male | Miniature Schnauzer | 35.56 | 3.40 |
15 | 13 | Female | Jack Russell Terrier | 30.48 | 7.26 |
16 | 5 | Female | English Cream Golden Retriever | 71.12 | 29.48 |
17 | - | Female | Chocolate Labrador Retriever | - | - |
18 | 8 | Male | Standard Wire Hair Dachshund | 40.64 | 12.70 |
19 | 10 | Female | Maltipoo | 25.40 | 2.27 |
20 | 2 | Male | English Cream Golden Retriever | 91.44 | 32.66 |
Floor | Interaction Frequency (n, %) | Pearson’s Residuals |
---|---|---|
Common Areas | 123, 12.64 | −3.08 * |
Inpatient/Inpatient Support | 286, 29.39 | 9.72 * |
Pediatric Inpatient | 235, 24.15 | 5.72 * |
Critical Care | 254, 26.10 | 7.21 * |
Non-emergency Outpatient | 27, 2.77 | −10.61 * |
Emergency Department | 48, 4.93 | −8.97 * |
Total | 973, 100.0 |
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Townsend, L.; Heatwole, J.K.; Gee, N.R. Reactivation of a Hospital-Based Therapy Dog Visitation Program during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Animals 2022, 12, 1842. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141842
Townsend L, Heatwole JK, Gee NR. Reactivation of a Hospital-Based Therapy Dog Visitation Program during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Animals. 2022; 12(14):1842. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141842
Chicago/Turabian StyleTownsend, Lisa, Jennifer K. Heatwole, and Nancy R. Gee. 2022. "Reactivation of a Hospital-Based Therapy Dog Visitation Program during the COVID-19 Pandemic" Animals 12, no. 14: 1842. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141842