Emergency Department Provider Stress Reduction: Therapy Dogs or Coloring?

Dog interactions and coloring both lowered staff cortisol levels during ED shifts, but only dog therapy lowered perceived stress.

Researchers randomized 80 emergency department (ED) staff members (nurses, residents, attending physicians) to either interact with a therapy dog or to color for 5 minutes (undisturbed in a location away from patient care areas) in the middle of a shift. A convenience sample of 41 staff members enrolled after randomization served as a control group. Perceived stress was measured on a visual analog scale (VAS) and a modified Perceived Stress Scale (mPSS), and salivary cortisol samples were collected at the start and end of shifts as well as 30 to 40 minutes after the intervention.

VAS stress scores increased over the shifts in the coloring group, decreased in the pet therapy group, and did not change in the control group. There was no signifi…

Reviewing Author

Carolyn K. Holland, MD, MEd, FACEP, FAAP

Disclosures

EquityGeneral Electric

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Program Committee Chief Resident Forum Subcommittee Chair); American College of Emergency Physicians (Education Committee member)

Carolyn K. Holland, MD, MEd, FACEP, FAAP

Disclosures

EquityGeneral Electric

Emergency Department Provider Stress Reduction: Therapy Dogs or Coloring?

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Reviewing Author