Clinical trial NCT06280612: The Effect of Live Cat and Simulation Cat Therapies on Oncology Patients
Official title: The Effect of Live Cat and Simulation Cat Therapies on Oncology Patients' Post-Chemotherapy Symptoms and Happiness Levels: A Randomized Controlled Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Therapy-Associated Cancer
Cancer Patient
Happiness
Symptoms
Keywords: pet therapy
cancer patient
happiness
symptoms
Lead sponsor: Karadeniz Technical University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2024-02-28
Enrollment: 45
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: The sample number of the research was calculated in the G\*Power 3.1.9.6 program. While α=0.05 was the error amount, 0.628 was the effect size, and 0.90 (90%) was the targeted test power, it was calculated as 36 patients for three groups (living cat group, robotic cat group, control group). Since there was no previous study on the subject, a study examining happiness levels in a different sample group was used as a reference. Considering situations such as wanting to leave the study or death during the research, each group was increased by 25%, and a total of 45 patients, 15 patients for each group, were included in the study.
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: It is known that animals are good for humans physiologically and psychologically. Therefore, in this study, the effects of live cat and robotic cat therapies on the symptoms and happiness levels of oncology patients after chemotherapy were examined.

Detailed description: Cancer is a disease that requires a long-term struggle with the psychosocial and economic burden it creates on the individual, family and society, bringing with it many health problems. Although chemotherapy treatment is the main treatment method for patients, it can cause some changes in the individual's appearance while treating cancer and many symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, alopecia, and constipation after treatment. At the same time, patients may feel tired, sleepy and depressed after treatment. However, cancer patients and their families experiencing some unknown diagnosis and treatment processes related to cancer also cause them to be unhappy as a result of experiencing some physical, social, emotional and spiritual problems during the treatment.

It is reported in the literature that pet therapy or animal-assisted treatments reduce disease-related symptoms and make patients happy. Pet therapy is an auxiliary non-pharmacological form of treatment that heals physiological and psychological diseases through interactions between animals and humans that meet certain criteria, and stimulates and activates the body mechanisms required for the development of the individual's health behaviors. In the literature, pet therapy studies with oncology patients are quite limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effects of live cat and robotic cat therapies on the symptoms and happiness levels experienced by oncology patients after chemotherapy.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Criteria for admission to the study are 18≤ of age,
* Agreeing to participate in the research,
* Being conscious of receiving outpatient chemotherapy treatment for 3≤ months, and being able to communicate.
* The criteria included no impairment in mental and cognitive functions of patients/relatives in the live group,
* Patients in the live cat group not having any animal allergies, and the cat group having a cat.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Not agreeing to participate in the research,
* Being under 18 years of age,
* Having known psychological disorders, having a visual, hearing, or speech disability, and having an animal allergy.
* Also excluded are having a surgical wound (suture, drainage, etc.), neutropenia or severe infection (by resistant bacteria), fever, diarrhea, respiratory symptoms or vomiting during the week before the start of the study.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Edmonton Symptom Diagnostic Scale
timeFrame: 12 Weeks
measure: Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form
timeFrame: 12 Weeks
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Gümüşhane
country: Turkey
facility: Gümüşhane University
Study officials:
References: