The Effect of a Therapy Dog Activity on Employees' Stress, Mood, and Job Satisfaction and Commitment

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of the current study is to determine if participating in a therapy dog activity is associated with changes in perceived stress, mood, and job satisfaction and commitment. A secondary goal is to explore a potential dose effect of multiple treatments as well as control for novelty effect.

Detailed Description
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This study will be conducted at Aetna Headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut. A pre-post repeated measures design will be used to compare study participant outcomes between a treatment (therapy dog activity) and comparison (low impact physical activity) condition. Outcome variables of interest are perceived stress measured by a stress visual analog scale (SVAS), mood measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and job satisfaction and commitment measured by an investigator-developed Job Satisfaction Survey (consisting of a combination of existing validated scales). Pet ownership, attitudes toward dogs measured by the Dog Attitude Scale, and trait stress, measured by the Perceived Stress Scale, will be assessed as moderating variables.

Official Title
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The Effect of a Therapy Dog Activity on Employees' Stress, Mood, and Job Satisfaction and Commitment

Conditions
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Stress, Mood, Job Satisfaction

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Therapy dog activity
* Behavioral: Low impact exercise


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Current Aetna employees Exclusion Criteria: Individuals not employed by Aetna. Note:employees are self-selecting to participate, therefore dog fears or allergies are not listed as exclusion criteria.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Therapy dog activity<br>Interact with visiting therapy dogs for 15 minutes on two Fridays | Behavioral: Therapy dog activity<br>* Visiting therapy dogs and their owners, evaluated and registered as therapy dog teams with Pet Partners will be spread around a large room on the Aetna campus. Employees will arrive at scheduled times to visit with the dogs for 15 minutes, talking to the dogs and owners and petting the dogs<br>|
| Active Comparator: Low impact physical activity<br>Participate in 15-minute low impact physical activity on two Fridays | Behavioral: Low impact exercise<br>* The low impact exercise will consist of stretching exercises conducted by a member of Aetna's wellness team in the same room for 15 minutes.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Single Item Stress Measure | Changes in self reported stress on visual analog scale (VAS) immediately before and after each activity. Scale ranges from none to most severe imaginable on 15 cm scale. | Baseline to week 3 | 
| 20-item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule | Self reported mood immediately before and after each activity. Each item is scored 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). 10 items comprise the positive affect scale with scores ranging from 10 - 50, with higher scores indicating higher positive affect. 10 items comprise the negative affect scale with total scores ranging from 10 - 50, with lower scores indicating lower negative affect. | Baseline to week 3 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Single Item Stress Measure | Changes in self reported stress on visual analog scale (VAS) after two intervention activities. Scale ranges from none to most severe imaginable on 15 cm scale. | Baseline to week 5 | 
| 20-item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule | Self reported mood two intervention activities. Each item is scored 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). 10 items comprise the positive affect scale with scores ranging from 10 - 50, with higher scores indicating higher positive affect. 10 items comprise the negative affect scale with total scores ranging from 10 - 50, with lower scores indicating lower negative affect. | Baseline to week 5 | 
| 9-item Job Satisfaction and Commitment Scale | Self reported job satisfaction ( 3 items) and commitment (6 items) at baseline, after the first and last activity. Each item is scored 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Total scores range from 9-45 with higher scores indicating greater job satisfaction and commitment | Baseline to week 5 |