Inpatient Physical Activity Function Through Enhanced Participation Levels in Animal-Assisted Therapy Programs

Thousands of canines are used for therapy in health care centers throughout the United States as part of a volunteer therapy team, yet little is known about the outcomes provided by these teams. Although many studies have been published, few used randomized, controlled formats to identify whether canine therapy has an impact and any mechanisms by which any impact may occur. The purpose of this study is use a randomized, controlled setup for canine animal-assisted therapy (AAT) in patients undergoing inpatient physical therapy for stroke, Parkinson\'s disease, or generalized weakness deconditioning to determine whether use of AAT produces desirable outcomes, such as increased motivation, in patients.