An interventional study of animal assisted therapy and standard therapy in Disorder of Consciousness, sponsored by Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute. Completed at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 17 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-05-17.
Sponsored by Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The study investigates the effects of animal-assisted therapy on patients with severe disorders of consciousness. The focus lies on the short-term biopsychosocial effects that occur when animals are present during therapy sessions in comparison to therapy sessions without animals, observing a group of 10 patients during 16 therapy sessions.
While half of the sessions are held in presence of an animal and half without, they are as comparable as possible with respect to content and setting. In this study, patients in a minimal conscious state are recruited.
This pilot study is designed as a controlled cross-over, within-subject trial with repeated measurement. The experimental condition is the standardised therapy session using therapy animals (AAT), while the control condition is the comparable "standard" therapy session without the presence of an animal.
Over a period of four weeks, patients have four standardised therapy sessions per week, that alternate in a way that two sessions in two consecutive weeks are similar except for one is with the presence of animals and one without. In this way, data is collected over 16 therapy sessions (8 experimental, 8 control) for each patient.
Each therapy session lasts about 20 minutes.
The study takes place at REHAB Basel. Animal-assisted therapies are held in a special room at REHAB Basel in the presence of one or more small animals that will be selected by the therapist.
Patients are allocated randomly to start with either the experimental or the control condition.
236 studies on the registry are indexed under Consciousness Disorders; 101 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 10 is below the median of 42 across 146 interventional studies indexed under Consciousness Disorders.
Browse Consciousness Disorders studies →Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute is the lead sponsor of 56 studies on the registry; 9 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
"Standard" therapy (speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy) that is done in the presence and with Integration of an animal.
Other: animal assisted therapy
standard physiotherapy, standard speech therapy and standard occupational therapy
Other: standard therapy
physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy in the presence of an animal
standard physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy
Degree of consciousness
assessed via behavioral coding in Noldus Observer
Time frame: 4 weeks
Heart rate
assessed via non-invasive HR monitoring belts (Polar® RS800CX, Polar® Electro Oy)
Time frame: 4 weeks
Behavioral reaction
measured via therapist's ratings on the BAVESTA scale (Basler Assessment Vegetative State)
Time frame: 4 weeks
Plan to share: Undecided
This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2017. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute