[Effects of having an Assistance Dog (AD) on Activities of Daily Living for Persons with Disabilities]

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A proposal presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements

of HS8113 Advanced Study in Research Methods

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Instructor: Dr. Michael Worthington



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ABSTRACT

Service dogs help persons with mobility impairments by retrieving items and performing other tasks. Hearing dogs alert persons with hearing impairments to environmental sounds. We conducted the pre-post, wait list-controlled pilot study to assess impact of dogs on lives of recipients. Participants were recruited through two assistance dog training organizations and completed an initial questionnaire packet. The Experimental group completed another packet 6 months after receiving the dog. The Control group completed the second packet 6 months after initial data collection. On average, dog recipients were very satisfied with their assistance dogs. Both service and hearing dog recipients reduced their dependence on other persons. Service dog recipients reduced hours of paid assistance. No other significant change occurred in various standardized outcome measures. Assistance dogs had the major positive impact on lives of recipients. More appropriate measurement instruments are needed to capture impact of these dogs.

Keywords: aid canines, service dogs, hearing dogs, dogs, human-animal bond, adult animals Assistant Animals

Table of Contents



CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION5

Introduction to problem5

Background of problem5

Statement of problem6

Purpose of study6

Research Question7

Nature of Study7

Assumptions and Limitations7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW9

Introduction9

ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING9

Theoretical Framework11

Review of Critical Literature11

Evaluation of viable study designs12

Conclusion13

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY15

Introduction15

Researcher's Philosophy15

Research Design15

Primary or Quantitative research15

Quantitative Research16

Research Hypothesis17

Research Instruments (only for Primary Research)17

Sample Size (only for Primary Research)18

Literature Search18

Ethical Issues18

REFERENCES20

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Introduction to problem

Service dogs and hearing dogs are two types of assistance dogs. Service dogs help persons with mobility impairments achieve an optimal level of functional independence in activities of daily living and enhance participation in society. These dogs are trained to perform variety of tasks, such as pulling wheelchairs, opening doors, turning on light switches, retrieving telephone, and picking up objects such as keys. A recent study of veterans with spinal cord injuries revealed that 30 percent were interested in obtaining service dog. Hearing dogs alert persons with hearing impairments to sounds, thereby increasing these persons' safety and social interactions. The dogs are trained to alert recipient to environmental sounds such as alarm clocks, kitchen timers, whistling teakettles, doorbells and knockers, presence of other persons, someone calling recipient's name, smoke and fire alarms, and approaching vehicles. Only few studies that assessed outcomes associated with obtaining an assistance dog have been published. While many studies found positive relationship between having an assistance dog and various outcome measures, majority of studies were retrospective and offered limited evidence for positive effects of assistance dogs on. (Brennan, 1998). The aim to provide these details is to reinforce seriousness of measurement issues and to provide basic overview of research for selection, development, and evaluation of study instruments. Because verification of psychometric properties of an equipment even those that are well established is context-specific and must be re-established to some degree for every research effort, it ...