The effect of assistance dogs for people with physical or psychological disabilities

Dogs can be trained to support people who have physical or psychological disabilities. The dogs, which are often referred to as assistance dogs, can perform different tasks for their handler, namely the person in need of help because of their condition or disability. Examples of tasks that assistance dogs can perform are to open doors, pay attention to blood pressure drops or act as emotional support for their handler.

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SBU Enquiry Service

Consists of structured literature searches to highlight studies that can address questions received by the SBU Enquiry Service from Swedish healthcare or social service providers. We assess the risk of bias in systematic reviews and when needed also quality and transferability of results in health economic studies. Relevant references are compiled by an SBU staff member, in consultation with an external expert when needed.

Question

What scientific studies are there on assistance dogs and their effect on handlers with psychological or physical disabilities?

Identified literature

Table 1. Systematic reviews with low/medium risk of bias
AAI = Animal Assisted Interventions; RCT = Randomised Controlled Trial; CCT = Controlled Clinical Trial; AAT = Animal Assisted Therapies; ASD = Autism Spectrum Disorder
Included studies Population/Intervention Outcome
Hallyburton et al 2017 [1]
10 studies, both quantitative and qualitative but only those that had 6 or more participants. 4 of these studies used service dogs. Population: Individuals with Autism or Asperger.
Intervention: Canine-Assisted Therapies. (Service dogs, therapy dogs or pet dogs.)		 Primary: Social and repetitive behaviour.
Secondary: Communication, salivary cortisol levels.
Authors' conclusion:
“Study authors note positive outcomes across dog types (companion, service and therapy), methods of assessment (biological measurement, interview, paper survey, and video) intervention length or duration of animal relationships, and observer types (caregiver, researcher). These findings appear to support the partnering of recreational therapists with dogs.”
O’Haire 2013 [2]
14 studies were included, of which 3 used service dogs. Population: Individuals with Autism Spektrum Disorder.
Intervention: Different types of animal assisted interventions with dogs and horses.		 Effect: Social interaction, language and communication, ASD severity, problem behaviours, stress and Wellbeing.
Authors' conclusion:
“Reported outcomes provide preliminary support for the concept of AAI for some individuals with ASD, through increased social interaction and communication as well as reduced problem behaviours, autistic severity and stress. However, further, more rigorous research will be necessary to progress from the preliminary testing phase to systematic manualization, clinical trials, and if efficacious, routine implementation.”
O’Haire et al 2015 [3]
10 studies were included of which 1 included psychiatric service dogs. Population: Individuals with Autism Spektrum Disorder.
Intervention: Different types of animal assisted interventions with dogs and horses.		 Effect: Social interaction, language and communication, ASD severity, problem behaviours, stress and Wellbeing.
Authors' conclusion:
“A review of the methodology indicates that research in this area is in its very early stages. Given the preliminary nature of the data, we conclude that at present AAI shows promise as a complementary technique but should not be enlisted as the first line of primary treatment for trauma.
Winkle et al 2012 [4]
12 quantitative studies
1 small RCT and 6 cohort studies. The 5 other studies had different lower levelled study designs.		 Population: Individuals with mobility-related physical disabilities.
Intervention:: Service dogs		 Social, functional and psychological
Authors' conclusion:
“Although the findings of this systematic literature review are promising, they are inconclusive and limited. This suggests the need for more rigorous studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of service dog/person partnerships.”

References

  1. Hallyburton A, Hinton J. Canine-Assisted Therapies in Autism: A Systematic Review of Published Studies Relevant to Recreational Therapy. her Recreation J 2017;51:127-42.
  2. O'Haire ME. Animal-assisted intervention for autism spectrum disorder: A systematic literature review. J Autism Dev Disord 2013;43:1606-22.
  3. O'Haire ME, Guérin NA, Kirkham AC. Animal-Assisted Intervention for trauma: A systematic literature review. Front Psychol 2015;6.
  4. Winkle M, Crowe TK, Hendrix I. Service dogs and people with physical disabilities partnerships: a systematic review. Occup Ther Int 2012;19:54-66.
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Published: Report no: ut201932 Registration no: SBU 2019/497
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Literature search

Medline via OVID 2019-09-16
Effects of assistance dogs for people with physical- or psychological disabilities
The search result, usually found at the end of the documentation, forms the list of abstracts.; [MeSH] = Term from the Medline controlled vocabulary, including terms found below this term in the MeSH hierarchy; [MeSH:NoExp] = Does not include terms found below this term in the MeSH hierarchy; [MAJR] = MeSH Major Topic; [TIAB] = Title or abstract; [TI] = Title; [AU] = Author; [TW] = Text Word; Systematic[SB] = Filter for retrieving systematic reviews; * = Truncation; “ “ = Citation Marks; searches for an exact phrase
  Search terms Items found
Intervention:
1. exp "Animal Assisted Therapy"/ AND (exp "dogs"/ or (dog* or canine).af.) 213
2. ((Dog* OR Canine OR Animal* or Pet) adj (Assisted or facilitated or Intervention)).ti,ab. and (Dog* or canine).af. 281
3. ((Service or Assistance or Seizure or alert or signal or hearing or response) adj dog*).ti,ab. 243
4. 1 OR 2 OR 3 581
Study types:
5. (((comprehensive* or systematic*) adj3 (bibliographic* or review* or literature)) or (meta-analy* or metaanaly* or "research synthesis" or ((information or data) adj3 synthesis) or (data adj2 extract*))).ti,ab. or (cinahl or (cochrane adj3 trial*) or embase or medline or psyclit or (psycinfo not "psycinfo database") or pubmed or scopus or "sociological abstracts" or "web of science").ab. or "cochrane database of systematic reviews".jn. or ((review adj5 (rationale or evidence)).ti,ab. and review.pt.) or meta-analysis as topic/ or Meta-Analysis.pt. 419580
6. 4 AND 5 35
Limits:
7. limit 4 to yr="2012 - 2019" 379
Final 1
Final 2		 4 AND 5
4 AND 7		 35
379

 

Cochrane Library via Wiley 2019-09-13
Effects of assistance dogs for people with physical- or psychological disabilities
The search result, usually found at the end of the documentation, forms the list of abstracts.; au = Author; MeSH = Term from the Medline controlled vocabulary, including terms found below this term in the MeSH hierarchy; this term only = Does not include terms found below this term in the MeSH hierarchy; :ti = Title; :ab = Abstract; :kw = Keyword; * = Truncation; “ “ = Citation Marks; searches for an exact phrase; CDSR = Cochrane Database of Systematic Review; CENTRAL = Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, “trials”; CRM = Method Studies; DARE = Database Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, “other reviews”; EED = Economic Evaluations; HTA = Health Technology Assessments
  Search terms Items found
Intervention:
1. [mh "Animal Assisted Therapy"] AND ([mh "dogs"] OR (dog* OR canine*):ti,ab,kw) 12
2. ((Dog* OR Canine OR Animal* OR Pet):ti,ab,kw NEXT (Assisted OR facilitated OR Intervention)) AND (Dog* OR canine):ti,ab,kw 72
3. ((Service or Assistance or support or Seizure or alert or signal or hearing or response) NEXT dog*):ti,ab 13
4. 1 OR 2 OR 3 81
Study types:
5. Cochrane Review  
6. 4 AND 5 0
Limits:
7. Limit Date: 2012 - 2019  
Final 1
Final 2		 4 AND 5
4 AND 7		 0
64

 

Embase via embase.com 2019-09-16
Effects of assistance dogs for people with physical- or psychological disabilities
/de = Term from the EMTREE controlled vocabulary; /exp = Includes terms found below this term in the EMTREE hierarchy; /mj = Major Topic; :ab = Abstract; :au = Author; :ti = Article Title; :ti,ab = Title or abstract; * = Truncation; ’ ’ = Citation Marks; searches for an exact phrase
  Search terms Items found
Intervention:
1. 'service dog'/exp 98
2. 'animal assisted therapy'/exp AND 'dog'/exp 261
3. 'animal assisted therapy'/exp AND ('dog'/exp OR (dog* OR canine):ti,ab,kw) 322
4. #1 OR #2 OR #4 414
5. (((dog* OR canine OR animal* OR pet) NEXT/1 (assisted OR facilitated OR intervention)) AND (dog* OR canine)):ti,ab 289
6. ((service OR assistance OR seizure OR signal OR hearing OR response) NEXT/1 dog*):ti,ab 197
7. #4 OR #5 OR #6 668
Study types:
8. [cochrane review]/lim OR [systematic review]/lim OR [meta analysis]/lim 315691
9. #7 AND #8 22
Limits:
10. (2012:py OR 2013:py OR 2014:py OR 2015:py OR 2016:py OR 2017:py OR 2018:py OR 2019:py 478
Final 1
Final 2		 #7 AND #8
#7 AND #10		 22
478

 

PsycINFO and CINAHL via ebsco.com 2019-09-16
Effects of assistance dogs  for people with physical- or psychological disabilities
The search result, usually found at the end of the documentation, forms the list of abstracts.; AB = Abstract; AU = Author; DE = Term from the thesaurus; MM = Major Concept; TI = Title; TX = All Text. Performs a keyword search of all the database's searchable fields; ZC = Methodology Index; * = Truncation; “ “ = Citation Marks; searches for an exact phrase
  Search terms Items found
Intervention:
1. (MH “Service Animals”) OR (DE "Service Animals") 556
2. (MH "Pet Therapy+") OR (DE "Animal Assisted Therapy") 2275
3. 1 OR 2 2731
4. (MH ”dogs” OR DE “Dogs”) OR ((AB dog* OR AB canine) OR (TI dog* OR TI canine)) 32110
5. 3 AND 4 1128
6. ((AB (dog* OR canine OR animal* OR pet) OR TI (dog* OR canine OR animal* OR pet)) N0 (AB (assisted OR facilitated OR intervention) OR TI (assisted OR facilitated OR intervention))) AND (AB (dog* or canine) OR TI (dog* or canine)) 519
7. (AB (service OR assistance OR seizure OR signal OR hearing OR response) OR TI (service OR assistance OR seizure OR signal OR hearing OR response)) N0 (AB dog* OR TI dog*) 390
8. 5 OR 6 OR 7 1498
Study types:
9. (TI (systematic* n3 review*)) or (AB (systematic* n3 review*)) or (TI (systematic* n3 bibliographic*)) or (AB (systematic* n3 bibliographic*)) or (TI (systematic* n3 literature)) or (AB (systematic* n3 literature)) or (TI (comprehensive* n3 literature)) or (AB (comprehensive* n3 literature)) or (TI (comprehensive* n3 bibliographic*)) or (AB (comprehensive* n3 bibliographic*)) or (TI (integrative n3 review)) or (AB (integrative n3 review)) or (JN “Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews”) or (TI (information n2 synthesis)) or (TI (data n2 synthesis)) or (AB (information n2 synthesis)) or (AB (data n2 synthesis)) or (TI (data n2 extract*)) or (AB (data n2 extract*)) or (TI (medline or pubmed or psyclit or cinahl or (psycinfo not “psycinfo database”) or “web of science” or scopus or embase)) or (AB (medline or pubmed or psyclit or cinahl or (psycinfo not “psycinfo database”) or “web of science” or scopus or embase)) or (MH “Systematic Review”) or (MH “Meta Analysis”) or (DE "Systematic Review") OR (DE "Meta Analysis") or (TI (meta-analy* or metaanaly*)) or (AB (meta-analy* or metaanaly*)) 250418
10. 8 AND 9 38
Limits:
11. Limit Published Date: 2012 - 2019  
Final 1
Final 2		 8 AND 9
8 AND 11		 38
830
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