Hospital-based Animal-Assisted visitation programs are important complementary therapies, but concerns with infection control may challenge the sustainability of these programs. Pilot data suggest that a low-cost chlorhexidine-based intervention targeted to the dogs involved in the visitation programs holds high potential to prevent pathogen transmission during sessions. In this study, the following aims will be tested: 1) To identify program-related risk factors for acquisition of hospital-associated pathogens by pediatric patients during animal-assisted intervention (AAI) sessions during an initial run-in phase of no intervention; 2) To determine the effect of chlorhexidine (CHX)-based interventions on acquisition of hospital-associated pathogens and microbial communities by patients during AAI sessions via a multicenter randomized controlled trial; and 3) To determine whether the specific benefits achieved by the visitation program, i.e. reduction in blood pressure, heart rate and self-reported pain and anxiety, are impacted by the interventions.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Clostridium Difficile, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
Hospital-based Animal-Assisted visitation programs are important complementary therapies, but concerns with infection control may challenge the sustainability of these programs. Pilot data suggest that a low-cost chlorhexidine-based intervention targeted to the dogs involved in the visitation programs holds high potential to prevent pathogen transmission during sessions. In this study, the following aims will be tested: 1) To identify program-related risk factors for acquisition of hospital-associated pathogens by pediatric patients during animal-assisted intervention (AAI) sessions during an initial run-in phase of no intervention; 2) To determine the effect of chlorhexidine (CHX)-based interventions on acquisition of hospital-associated pathogens and microbial communities by patients during AAI sessions via a multicenter randomized controlled trial; and 3) To determine whether the specific benefits achieved by the visitation program, i.e. reduction in blood pressure, heart rate and self-reported pain and anxiety, are impacted by the interventions.
Animal-Assisted Visitation Program Chlorhexidine Trial
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Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21205
Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, 63110
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.
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3 Years to 17 Years
ALL
No
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
Meghan F Davis, DVM, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2025-12-01