Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) Shareable Infographic: Top 5 Health Benefits of Cat Ownership

The Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Foundation today announced it has awarded a $6,000 grant to The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Nursing for a pilot research study, Biobehavioral Effects of Therapy Dog Visitation in Elderly Intensive Care Unit Patients, to investigate how brief visits from therapy dogs can reduce stress in older intensive care unit (ICU) patients. “Elderly patients who are admitted to the intensive care unit are at risk for anxiety that negatively affects physical health,” said primary researcher Sandra Branson, PhD, MSN, RN, Assistant Professor at the UTHealth School of Nursing. “Limited evidence suggests the effectiveness of therapy dog visits in improving these biological responses. We’re hoping this study will help fill the gap and potentially translate into regular practice in ICUs.” Further exploring the effects of therapy dogs on stress in elderly ICU patients, the study aims to provide research-based evidence proving the efficacy of brief, 10-minute therapy dog visits in improving stress associated with being in an ICU. The 18-month study will observe two groups of 10 elderly participants in the ICU; one group will receive a 10-minute therapy dog visits at random and the other will receive usual care without the visits. Patients’ psychosocial, endocrine, and inflammatory responses will be measured immediately before and after the 10-minute care session and compared between the two groups. It is predicted that participants who receive the therapy dog visits will show greater reductions in the measured responses. The results of this study could yield therapy dog visits as a regular, low-risk and low-cost treatment intervention for patients in the ICU. “HABRI’s grant to UTHealth will help advance the science that demonstrates the benefits of companion animals for disease recovery and healthy aging,” said HABRI Executive Director Steven Feldman. “The deployment of therapy...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and IDEXX today hosted a virtual lecture highlighting a HABRI-funded research project investigating the benefits of engaging in a dog training program for young people aged 10-17. This lecture is a part of the IDEXX Human-Animal Bond Lecture Series, which explores impactful scientific research on the health benefits of the human-animal bond and the importance of veterinary medicine in strengthening human-animal bonds. The lecture, titled “The Impact of a Dog Training Program on the Physical Activity, Quality of Life, and Social Wellbeing of Adolescents”, featured a discussion led by Oregon State University professors Dr. Megan MacDonald, Ph.D, and Dr. Monique Udell, Ph.D, on their study examining a Do as I Do (“DAID”) dog training program, which emphasizes an active partnership between dog and owner by demonstrating a particular behavior for the dog to repeat. The study aims to assess whether youth who undergo the DAID dog training program will experience an improved child-dog bond, increased mutual physical activity as well as higher feelings of responsibility, quality of life and social wellbeing. Partial findings indicate that dogs show great potential to learn when trained by adolescents. “HABRI was proud to host Dr. MacDonald and Dr. Udell as they shared details about their research which addresses the potential of the human-animal bond to support adolescent wellbeing, a group at high risk for physical inactivity, anxiety and depression,” said HABRI President Steven Feldman. “HABRI is grateful to IDEXX for sponsoring this lecture, helping connect veterinarians with the health benefits of the human-animal bond for the entire family.” Veterinary professionals who viewed this session live will be eligible to receive RACE-approved Continuing Education (CE) credit through the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB). The lecture will remain available on-demand at http://www.habri.org/HAB-Lectures....

 The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Pet Partners announced today a grant to Indiana University School of Medicine for a new research project, Canine-assisted anxiety reduction in pediatric emergency care (CANINE III). The study will investigate the impact of therapy dog visits on the anxiety levels of children in emergency care.   “Registered Pet Partners therapy dog teams visit hospitals throughout the country, and we know they can put a smile on a child’s face, no matter what they are going through,” said C. Annie Peters, President and CEO of Pet Partners. “Scientific research to validate the efficacy of therapy dogs in the emergency room has the potential to not only provide more children with much needed comfort and emotional support, but to also help serve as a complementary intervention to improve medical outcomes.”  “Virtually all children experience some degree of psychological stress as patients in the emergency department,” says the Principal Investigator, Jeffrey Kline, MD, IU School of Medicine “The inclusion of therapy dog visits in addition to a child-life specialist could provide a low cost, low risk method to help reduce child and parental anxiety in the emergency department.”   CANINE III is a NCT-registered, two-arm, block randomized trial with one to one matching of patients receiving therapy dogs as an adjunct with a child life specialist, compared with children who receive child life specialists alone. The children will receive a 15-minute visit, with the research team periodically collecting saliva samples to test for cortisol levels, or the level of stress. Dr. Kline will complete this project alongside co-investigator Alan Beck, PhD, Purdue University. The study will also test if therapy dogs afford greater anxiety reduction in children with psychiatric complaints, autism spectrum disorder, or brain injury, versus children with none of those conditions.   All...