The Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid has participated in a pioneering project in Spain, which incorporates assisted interventions with animals in a pediatric ICU. The pilot experience has concluded after two months of work, demonstrating that assisted therapy with dogs helps minimize pain and anxiety in admitted patients.
Zénit, a Golden Retriever dog, has been in charge of visiting the 15 children and adolescents who have participated in the project, whose ages were between three and 18 years. With his presence alone, the animal has managed to change fear and sadness, for calm and smiles.
When animals help reduce pain and anxiety
Zénit is part of "Colored footprints" project, a pioneering experience in our country set in motion by the joint work of three institutions: the Institutional Chair of Animal and Society Research, of the Rey Juan Carlos University, the Psychoanimal Association and the 12 de Octubre Hospital in Madrid.
In Babies and more Dogs time: a hospital in Madrid allows children to receive the visit of their petsIn the two months that the pilot project lasted, the animal has made 23 visits to 15 children and adolescents admitted to the pediatric ICU of the 12 de Octubre Hospital, after having undergone surgery or had complications in the evolution of their disease.
Those responsible for the project ensure that there are significant differences before and after the interventions with the animal, such as pain reduction of up to three points -according to the usual scales of measurement of this variable-, the reduction of the level of anxiety and other symptoms associated with the pathology.
In addition, according to the newspaper El País, Juan Ignacio Sánchez, head of service of the Pediatric ICU of the hospital, when it is necessary to sedate the children, the dose that needs to be used is lower if the dog is nearby.
"This study demonstrates the benefit of the use of animal-assisted interventions as another way to humanize intensive care and control the pain of patients with non-pharmacological measures "- explains Alba Palacios, principal investigator of the project and pediatrician of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the 12 de Octubre University Hospital.
The families of pediatric patients have shown their satisfaction with the result. And is that Zénit has been able to fill with joy and warmth, the cold and unfriendly hospital environment, in addition to providing a "therapeutic respite" to admitted children.
In Babies and more On wheels to the operating room: the great initiative that some hospitals are launchingZénit, a dog rescued from abandonment and trained to relieve pain
Via catedraanimalesysociedad.org The main protagonist of this project is a six-year-old dog of the Golden Retriever breed, which was rescued from abandonment, recovered and subsequently trained for this purpose.
In Babies and moreThe story of Nora, the battered dog that overcame her fears thanks to this baby Before starting, Zénit made an initial recognition visit to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, in order to check its adaptation to the environment, behavior and involvement. After this initial test, he began his work.
During the months of January and February, the animal has performed a total of 23 interventions, visiting the pediatric ICU once a week for a period of two hours.
His visits were supervised at all times by psychologists and technicians in animal-assisted interventions, and the children and adolescents involved had previously been selected by health professionals.
The Psychoanimal Association has also selected two other dogs that could work alongside Zénit. This is Senna, a seven-year-old mixed race dog, and Koma, a labrador mestizo who was also rescued from abandonment.
This type of therapy is not used in any other hospital in our country, although there is experience in American and Italian centers. Such is the case of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore (USA), or the Capedale Pediatric Hospital Meyor, in Florence, which has maintained a program of assisted interventions with animals in the ICU for ten years.
Having dogs is beneficial for children's health, as well as having a positive impact on their emotional well-being, and this pioneering project has shown that.
The "Color Footprints" project will resume in April for three more months, but seeks funding to become a stable therapy.
