Allen K, Blascovich J
Department of Medicine, Millard Fillmore Hospital, Buffalo, NY 14209, USA.
JAMA. 1996 Apr 3;275(13):1001-6.
To assess the value of service dogs for people with ambulatory disabilities.
Randomized, controlled clinical trial.
Environments of study participants.
Forty-eight individuals with severe and chronic ambulatory disabilities requiring use of wheelchairs who were recruited from advocacy and support groups for persons with muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. Participants were matched on age, sex, marital status, race, and the nature and severity of the disability in order to create 24 pairs. Within each pair, participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or a wait-list control group.
Experimental group members received trained service dogs 1 month after the study began, and subjects in the wait-list control group received dogs in month 13 of the study.
Dependent variables evaluated were self-reported assessments of psychological well-being, internal locus of control, community integration, school attendance, part-time work status, self-esteem, marital status, living arrangements, and number of biweekly paid and unpaid assistance hours. Data collection occurred every 6 months over a 2-year period, resulting in five data collection points for all subjects.
Significant positive changes in all but two dependent measures were associated with the presence of a service dog both between and within groups (P<.001). Psychologically, all participants showed substantial improvements in self-esteem, internal locus of control, and psychological well-being within 6 months after receiving their service dog. Socially, all participants showed similar improvements in community integration. Demographically, all participants showed increases in school attendance and/or part-time employment. Economically, all participants showed dramatic decreases in the number of both paid and unpaid assistance hours.
Trained service dogs can be highly beneficial and potentially cost-effective components of independent living for people with physical disabilities.
评估服务犬对行动不便者的价值。
随机对照临床试验。
研究参与者的环境。
从肌肉萎缩症、多发性硬化症、创伤性脑损伤和脊髓损伤患者的宣传和支持团体中招募了48名严重慢性行动不便且需要使用轮椅的个体。参与者在年龄、性别、婚姻状况、种族以及残疾的性质和严重程度方面进行匹配，以形成24对。在每一对中，参与者被随机分配到实验组或等待名单对照组。
实验组成员在研究开始1个月后接受训练有素的服务犬，等待名单对照组的受试者在研究的第13个月接受犬只。
评估的因变量包括自我报告的心理健康、内控点、社区融入、上学出勤、兼职工作状况、自尊、婚姻状况、生活安排以及每两周有偿和无偿协助小时数。在2年期间每6个月进行一次数据收集，所有受试者共有五个数据收集点。
除两项因变量外，所有因变量的显著正向变化在组间和组内均与服务犬的存在相关（P<0.001）。在心理方面，所有参与者在收到服务犬后的6个月内自尊、内控点和心理健康均有显著改善。在社会方面，所有参与者在社区融入方面都有类似的改善。在人口统计学方面，所有参与者的上学出勤和/或兼职工作均有所增加。在经济方面，所有参与者的有偿和无偿协助小时数均大幅减少。
训练有素的服务犬对于身体残疾者的独立生活可能非常有益且具有潜在的成本效益。
