Animal-Assisted Visitation Program Chlorhexidine Trial
Status:
Not yet recruiting
Trial end date:
2023-05-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
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.
Phase:
Phase 4
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Collaborators:
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) University of Pennsylvania