Dogs can also be a doctor’s best friend. For patients suffering from pain in the emergency room, just 10 minutes with a four-legged friend can help reduce pain, according to a study published Wednesday.
The results support what dog lovers everywhere have long suspected – canine affection cures all ills – as well as providing a bit of optimism for patients and healthcare professionals who are often dealing with scarce hospital resources amid the pandemic. of Covid-19.
“There is research showing that pets are an important part of our health in different ways. They motivate us, lift us up, (give us) routines, the human-animal bond,” said lead study author Colleen Dell, research chair, One Health and Wellness and a professor at the University of Saskatchewan.
The study, published in the journal PLOS One, asked more than 200 emergency room patients to report their pain level on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest level of pain).
A control group had no pain intervention, while participants in the other group received 10 minutes with a therapy dog, and patients assessed their pain levels again, according to the study. Those who were visited by the dogs reported less pain.
The study has a strong methodology, said Jessica Chubak, a senior researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Health Research Institute in Washington. Chubak, who was not involved in the study, noted that there is still a lot to learn about therapy dogs.
“The study results are promising,” she said in an email. “Our current understanding of the effects of therapy dog visits in emergency settings is quite limited. Therefore, it is particularly important to have more research in this area.”
Dell hopes that research like this will mean we can stop asking whether therapy dogs are useful in a medical context and start asking how they help and how to better integrate them into healthcare teams.
Bright lights, long waits, anxiety and focusing on immediate and acute conditions can make the sensation worse, said Erin Beckwell, who owns a dog who has suffered chronic pain for much of her life.
“It’s not a place where you’re usually escorted to a comfortable room that’s quiet and gives us any kind of specific intervention,” she said. “Often it’s hints of things you’ve already tried, and then they send you home after a long, agonizing, anxious, pain-filled wait.
“You might not come away feeling like you’ve really been heard.”
Some people have a misperception that using therapy dogs can transmit disease and risk hygiene in a hospital setting, but Dell said there are ways healthcare professionals can use them in a sanitary way to make the whole system work better. .
Mike MacFadden, a nurse from Canada, said he sees a lot of potential in incorporating therapy dogs as part of a holistic approach to treating pain in the emergency room, and that it can help everyone involved.
“Emergency service teams may feel conflicted and suffer moral distress resulting from their inability to meet their own expectations of optimal care. With people’s pain experience being multifaceted, we know that a multifaceted approach is most beneficial in meeting patients’ needs,” McFadden said.
“The presence of a therapy dog not only has the benefits of supporting the patient experience, but I think it also serves as a comfort to healthcare professionals.”
At home
Pain can be thought of as a physical and social experience, said Michelle Gagnon, an assistant professor of psychology and health studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Gagnon was not involved in the study.
Anxiety, depression, having support or being rejected can all have an impact on how we feel pain, she said. It makes sense that spending time with a creature that brings you joy and doesn’t invalidate your feelings can help you feel better.
“The things you can gain from pets and some of the positive emotions that can be triggered by having the animal around you, I think can have an impact on the pain experience itself,” she said.
Beckwell said he personally experienced this with his 10-year-old cocker spaniel, Reilly, as she experienced arthritis and autoimmune disorders.
“I feel more in control of the situation and less panicked or anxious about the severity of my pain, the duration of my pain, that kind of thing when I have the unconditional support of my dog,” Beckwell said. “She will come, and she’s learned over the years, when I’m in pain, she can’t sit on my lap.
“I don’t need to tell her—she knows,” Beckwell said.
Source: CNN Brasil
