Quantifying the Efficacy and Role of Service Dogs for Military Veterans With PTSD
Quantifying the Efficacy and Role of Service Dogs for Military Veterans With PTSD
The purpose of this study is to quantify the therapeutic efficacy and role of trained service dogs on socio-emotional functioning among military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The long-term research goal is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of service dogs as a complementary intervention to enhance biopsychosocial functioning in special populations. The objective is to conduct a methodologically rigorous trial to quantify the therapeutic efficacy of service dogs on clinically-important outcomes for veterans with PTSD. Based on preliminary findings and qualitative reports, the central hypothesis is that military veterans with PTSD who are provided service dogs will experience reduced PTSD symptoms related to socio-emotional functioning and arousal modulation. The rationale for this research is that its successful completion will provide an evidence-based demonstration of the efficacy and role of an increasingly used yet poorly tested complementary intervention. The completion of this project is expected to established an initial demonstration of the therapeutic efficacy of service dogs in this population, as well as possible mechanisms of action via specific biological pathways and human-canine interaction profiles.
Inclusion criteria for veterans into the study will include: