Reflections on Recent Research Into Animal-Assisted Interventions in the Military and Beyond

Abstract

With regard to AAI within the military, several canine interaction programs have been utilized to assist service members in coping with various issues. Therapy dogs have been deployed with Combat-Operational Stress Control units; they have been integrated into medical clinics and behavioral health treatment programs in garrison; and policy has been developed to address the use of therapy animals in military treatment facilities. General research in AAI has demonstrated efficacy for certain presenting issues (stress management, trauma, autism spectrum disorder) and specific populations (children, the elderly, acute care patients). Overall trends in research include calls for increased consideration for animal welfare in AAI and increased rigor in research methodology. Current research supports the structured use of therapy dogs in the treatment of various disorders and with specific populations, including military service members and veterans; however, the need for additional research with rigorous methodology remains.

An adjunctive human-animal interaction intervention for veterans with PTSD: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…Additionally, much of the extant literature to date has focused on the beneficial health effects of HAI through long-term pet ownership rather than the effects of specific interventions. Finally, reviews of HAI specifically related to therapeutic interventions or specific clinical populations suggest an overall lack of methodological rigor [16, 18–20] which is a considerable barrier to progress in the field. The current study team noted these trends when designing the trial and decidedly erred on the conservative side in relation to specifying the control group.…”

“…HAI refers to the purposeful and semistructured social pairing of a human with a domesticated animal for therapeutic purposes. A number of diverse studies have found that HAI can have positive effects on emotional and physical functioning, stress reactivity, and social functioning [16–18]; and among those with psychiatric symptoms, HAI interventions have been found to improve depression, anxiety, and PTSD [16, 19, 20]. Although promising, the HAI literature is tempered by methodological limitations, such as difficult-to-replicate study procedures, over-reliance on self-report measures, and lack of adequate controls/randomization (e.g., [18–20]).…”