A Dog-assisted Therapy to Reduce Burnout Among Professionals Working in a School for Special Education

Effects of a Dog-assisted Therapy on Quality of Life, Work Engagement and Burnout Among Professionals Working in a School for Special Education

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of an 8-week program consisting of dog-assisted therapy on the work engagement, burnout, pain, and quality of life among professionals working in a School for Special Education. A total of 30 participants will be involved in the program, which will be comprised of eight 50-min sessions conducted once a week. The hypothesis of the researchers in this study is that this program will achieve a reduction in burnout levels in workers, as well as an improvement in engagement and quality of life.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Work Related Stress; Occupational Groups
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Dog-assisted therapy

Detailed Description

Animal-assisted interventions have shown numerous benefits in different populations including children with cerebral palsy or autism spectrum disorder, people with chronic pain, older adults, or people in prison. Recently, different initiatives have been carried out focused on improving the work environment, especially among professionals in clinical settings and obtaining benefits in mood, as well as a reduction in the levels of stress and burnout of employees. In addition, it has also been observed that these animals in the workplace can produce an improvement in health, productivity or job satisfaction.

The presence of stress or anxiety among professionals working in Special Education Schools has been previously reported and could increase burnout and reduce the engagement and health-related quality of life of these workers.

Therefore, the current randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of an 8-week program consisting of dog-assisted therapy on the work engagement, burnout, pain, and quality of life among professionals working in a School for Special Education. A total of 30 participants will be involved in the program, which will be comprised of eight 50-min sessions conducted once a week. The hypothesis of the researchers is that this program will achieve a reduction in burnout levels in workers, as well as an improvement in engagement and quality of life.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Daniel Collado-Mateo, PhD; Phone Number: +34 914 88 75 18; Email: daniel.collado@urjc.es

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Madrid
    • Móstoles, Madrid, Spain, 28933
      • Recruiting
      • King Juan Carlos University
      • Contact: Daniel Collado-Mateo, PhD; Email: daniel.collado@urjc.es
      • Sub-Investigator: Beatriz Rivera Martín, PhD
      • Sub-Investigator: Luis Lucio Lobato Rincón, PhD
      • Sub-Investigator: Ana Myriam Lavín Pérez, MSc
      • Sub-Investigator: Isabel Gómez-Calcerrada, MSc
      • Sub-Investigator: Jaime Ramírez Aragonés, MSc
      • Sub-Investigator: Myriam Díaz Hernández, MSc
      • Sub-Investigator: Jesús Morenas Martín, PhD
      • Sub-Investigator: Cristina Martín Sánchez, MSc

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• be aged >18 years
• be workers in a School for Special Education
• work in direct contact with children (teachers, physiotherapists, etc.)

Exclusion Criteria:

• People with dog-allergy
• People with dog phobia
• People with a history of impulsive animal aggression

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control group; They will be on a waiting list. They will be assessed before and after the 8 week program but will not take part in it.
Experimental: Experimental group; Participants in this group will take part in the 8 sessions of dog-assisted therapy. They will be assessed before and after the 8 week program.	Behavioral: Dog-assisted therapy; The program will involve 8 sessions, conducted once a week for 8 weeks. Each session will include three parts: 1) a welcome part aimed to get in touch with the dog, 2) a main part, where participants will be taught basic notions about dog training and then try to train the dogs. In this part, the patients will perform different activities and exercises with the dog. 3) A closing part to relaxation and say goodbye to the dogs.; Other Names: animal-assisted therapy; animal-assisted intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in Burnout levels assessed using the Burnout Clinical Subtypes Questionnaire	The Burnout Clinical Subtypes Questionnaire (BCSQ-36) evaluates by means of 36 items the burnout of the participants. Each of the items can be scored on a Likert scale from 1 to 7; 1 being totally disagree and 7 being totally agree. In addition, the questionnaire is divided into 3 subtypes with their respective dimensions: Frantic subtype (Involvement, Ambition and Overload), Unchallenged subtype (Indifference, Boredom and Lack of Development), Worn-out subtype (Abandonment, Lack of Control and Lack of Recognition). The Burnout Clinical Subtypes Questionnaire (BCSQ-12) also assesses burnout and is calculated with the items of the BCSQ-36.	At baseline and immediately after the intervention (within 7 days after the last session)
Changes in Burnout levels assessed using the Burnout Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)	The Burnout Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a tool for the assessment of burnout, as an antithesis of the UWES questionnaire focused on engagement. This questionnaire consists of 22 items that give rise to 3 dimensions: Emotional exhaustion (decrease and loss of energy or emotional resources); Depersonalization or Cynicism (negative attitudes and feelings towards the people for whom the work is intended) and Lack of personal accomplishment or professional efficacy (tendency of professionals to evaluate themselves negatively).	At baseline and immediately after the intervention (within 7 days after the last session)
Changes in Burnout levels assessed using one Item for Burnout assessment	One Item for Burnout assessment where under the statement of "In general, according to your definition of burnout, how would you rate your level of burnout?" participants have 5 response options from "I enjoy my work. I have no symptoms of burnout" to "I feel completely burned out and often wonder if I can keep going. I am at a point where I may need some changes or should seek some kind of help."	At baseline and immediately after the intervention (within 7 days after the last session)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in work engagement	Assessed through the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), which is a scale widely used for the evaluation of engagement in the workplace . It is composed of 17 items distributed in three factors: 1) vigor (6 items, e.g., "In my work I feel full of energy"), 2) dedication (6 items, e.g., "My work has meaning") and 3) absorption (5 items, e.g., "When I am working I forget everything that happens around me"). It consists of a seven-item Likert scale (from 0 = "never" to 6 = "always").	At baseline and immediately after the intervention (within 7 days after the last session)
Changes in Health-related quality of life	It will be assessed using the EQ-5D-5L Questionnaire (EuroQoL 5 dimensions 5 levels): it is a questionnaire consisting of 5 dimensions with 5 levels of response, the first dimension refers to mobility, the second to personal care, the third to daily activities, the fourth to pain/discomfort, and the fifth to anxiety and depression.	At baseline and immediately after the intervention (within 7 days after the last session)
Changes in Health Status	It will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale of the EQ-5D-5L Questionnaire (EuroQoL 5 dimensions 5 levels). It is represented as a thermometer ranging from 0 to 100, where 0 is the worst state of health that can be imagined and 100 is the best state of health imaginable.	At baseline and immediately after the intervention (within 7 days after the last session)
Changes in pain	Assessed through a visual analog pain scale, which is represented as a thermometer ranging from 0 to 100, where 0 is the absence of pain and 100 the highest pain level imaginable	At baseline and immediately after the intervention (within 7 days after the last session)
Changes in blood pressure	Systolic and diastolic blood pressure using the Omron MIT Elite Plus Oscillometer	At baseline and immediately after the intervention (within 7 days after the last session)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Daniel Collado-Mateo
• Collaborators: Asociación Dame La Pata
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Daniel Collado-Mateo, PhD, Rey Juan Carlos University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Anticipated): October 26, 2021
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): December 23, 2021
• Study Completion (Anticipated): December 23, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 16, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 27, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): October 29, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 29, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 27, 2021
• Last Verified: October 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Quality of life; Burnout; dog-assisted; Work Engagement; Human-animal interaction; Animal-assisted
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Occupational Diseases; Burnout, Psychological; Occupational Stress
• Other Study ID Numbers: AAI_Teachers

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No