Cheryl A Krause-Parello and Kristie Morales
University of Colorado-AMC College of Nursing, USA
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care
Service dogs are trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability and can help to assist with tasks needed for daily functioning. This presentation reports the results of a qualitative study into the breadth and depth of service dogs for service connected conditions (e.g. PTSD and TBI). In-depth interviews were conducted with veterans (N= 21) who had a service dog. Analysis included describing, classifying, and interpreting the data into codes and themes. Results indicated that factors associated with obtaining a service dog after military service were connected to the symptomology of invisible wounds such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and TBI. The impact of having a service dog was found to provide psychosocial support and served as a protective mechanism against suicidal behavior, allowed some veterans to cease taking medications for depression/anxiety, and helped protect against other maladaptive behavior (e.g. substance use). The results substantiated the positive impact that service dogs provide for veterans� overall health and social engagement; a call to action for change in public policy is needed regarding service dogs as a reimbursable medical expense for invisible wounds.
Journal of Nursing & Care received 4230 citations as per Google Scholar report
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