Dogs as Medicine, Thank You Veterans!
As we celebrate Independence Day in the United States, we can honor those who have served in the military. Military service can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for some service members. A new study examined the impact of service dogs as medical interventions for PTSD and other mental health problems in veterans.
Many vets suffer from anxiety, depression, PTSD, and/or increased risk of suicide. A lack of research on service dogs as medical care has limited funding for nonprofits that train and pair service dogs with vets, impeded medical insurance coverage supporting service dogs as a medical intervention, and hindered civil rights protections for those paired with a service dog.
Service dogs are trained to support people in customized ways. For a veteran with PTSD, a service dog could retrieve medication or perform anxiety-reducing behaviors. To better understand the impacts of service dogs on vets, researchers recruited 156 vets on the waiting list to receive a service dog from K9s for Warriors. From that group, 81 were paired with service dogs at no cost and the others were left on the waiting list, serving as the control group. The service dogs received an average of 6 months of training, and the vets who received dogs took a 3-week course on service dog training, care, and interaction. All the vets continued their regular medical care.
The vets took wellness tests before they received their service dog and again 3 months later. After just 3 months of service dog partnership, a relationship that can last 8 or more years, the researchers found these vets had:
A 66% lower chance of receiving a PTSD diagnosis;
Significantly lower self-reported and clinician-rated severity of PTSD symptoms;
Lower anxiety and depression;
Fewer feelings of isolation; and
· Significantly higher quality of life.
Takeaway: Partnership with a service dog may be a highly effective medical intervention. This takeaway should not be surprising, given that prior research demonstrated that interacting with dogs reduced stress, and improved the capacity to concentrate and relax in healthy individuals.
If you can, consider joining me in donating to K9s for Warriors this Independence Day.
The OHAIRE Group – The Organization for Human-Animal Interaction Research and Education – at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine is planning additional in-depth research.
Well-being is a journey, not a quick fix.
The Legal Brain: A Lawyer’s Guide to Well-being and Better Job Performance is available on Amazon.
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Professor Austin is the leading authority on the intersection of neuroscience and the practice of law, and through The Legal Brain she shares her expertise in a comprehensive, approachable, and hopeful text. Every law student and lawyer should read (and re-read) it to foster well-being and optimize their performance.
Jarrod F. Reich, Senior Lecturer, Boston University School of Law
Sources
Logan Burtch-Buss, Veterans with service dogs may have fewer PTSD symptoms, higher quality of life | University of Arizona News, June 4, 2024.
Onyoo Yoo, et al., Psychophysiological and Emotional Effects of Human-Dog Interactions by Activity Type: An Electroencephalogram Study, PLOS One, March 13, 2024, Psychophysiological and emotional effects of human–Dog interactions by activity type: An electroencephalogram study | PLOS ONE.
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