Therapy dogs may help ease children’s anxiety in ER

Therapy dogs may help ease children’s anxiety in ED

A woman and a little girl are petting a dog in a hospital bed.

May 1, 2025

Sean Stangland, Associate EditorPDF Icon

 

Article type: Health Briefs

Topics:

Emergency Medicine 

Psychiatry/Psychology 

Psychosocial Issues 

Therapeutics



Ten-minute sessions with therapy dogs in an emergency department (ED) were associated with a “modest but significantly greater reduction” in anxiety levels reported by children compared to levels in patients who didn’t interact with the dogs, according to a recent study.

Studies have shown that exposure to therapy dogs in nonemergency care settings is associated with reduced anxiety in children with psychiatric disorders, autism spectrum disorders and chronic conditions.

The authors of this study sought to determine if the same was true for patients in a children’s hospital emergency department.

They conducted a randomized trial of 80 children ages 5-17 with suspected moderate to high anxiety. Forty children in the control group received a child-life therapy visit, in which a specialist used play, audiovisual distractions and other techniques to help calm fear and anxiety. Forty children in the intervention group received child-life therapy and were visited by a therapy dog and its handler.

Parents and children in both groups rated the child’s anxiety on a 10-point scale (0=no pain) before the therapy visit (T0) and 45 minutes after (T1).

At T0, the mean self-reported anxiety score was 5.5 in the control group and 5.4 in the intervention group. The mean child anxiety scores reported by parents were 6.3 for the control group and 6.6 for the intervention group.

At T1, children in the control group reported a mean decrease of 1.5 points, and the intervention group reported a mean decrease of 2.4. Parents estimated greater decreases of 2.2 (control group) and 3.2 (intervention group).

“(W)hen anxious children were exposed to an additional experience with a certified therapy dog and handler, they reported a statistically significant decrease in anxiety 45 minutes later,” the authors wrote.

They also found the intervention group required fewer behavioral medications like ketamine, lorazepam, midazolam and droperidol during their ED stay, “although this change was not significantly different from the control group.”

The authors noted that the intervention group was notified of the dog’s visit ahead of time, which could have led to an overestimation of effects. The study also did not measure the impact of therapy dogs when child-life therapy was not administered.



Copyright © 2025 American Academy of Pediatrics



A randomized clinical trial suggests that the use of therapy dogs in a pediatric emergency department (ED) can help reduce both child-reported anxiety and parental perception of that anxiety. The study, which included 80 children aged 5 to 17, found that children who interacted with a therapy dog experienced a greater decrease in anxiety levels compared to those receiving only standard child-life therapy. 

Specifically, the study showed that children who interacted with a therapy dog experienced a greater decrease in anxiety as measured by a FACES scale, a self-reporting scale ranging from 0 (no anxiety) to 10 (very severe anxiety). Additionally, parents of children who interacted with the therapy dog reported a greater perceived decrease in their child's anxiety. While there was a reduction in the use of medication to manage severe anxiety in the therapy dog group, the difference was not considered statistically significant. 



This research supports the use of therapy dogs as a way to minimize pain and anxiety in pediatric emergency patients, potentially reducing the need for chemical or physical restraints. Animal-assisted therapy, including therapy dogs, has been shown to offer emotional support, reduce anxiety, and enhance social skills for children. Other studies have also explored the positive impact of therapy dogs in hospitals and other settings. 



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