Title of article :
Pinnipeds and PTSD: An Analysis of a Human-Animal Interaction Case Study Program for a Veteran
Author/Authors :
Fox-Garrity, Bonnie DepartmentofOccupationalTherapy - D’YouvilleCollege - Buffalo - NY ,USA , Wortman , Rachel A. DepartmentofOccupationalTherapy - D’YouvilleCollege - Buffalo - NY ,USA , Vallone, Theresa DepartmentofOccupationalTherapy - D’YouvilleCollege - Buffalo - NY ,USA , Karnes, Michele DepartmentofOccupationalTherapy - D’YouvilleCollege - Buffalo - NY ,USA , Walawander, Christine DepartmentofOccupationalTherapy - D’YouvilleCollege - Buffalo - NY ,USA , Daly, Dion DepartmentofOccupationalTherapy - D’YouvilleCollege - Buffalo - NY ,USA
Abstract :
Theobjectiveofthisstudywastoexaminetheimpactofapinniped(greyandharborseals)facilitatedhuman-animalinteraction
pilotprogramontheself-reportedPTSD-likesymptomsofaveteran.Thisstudyanalyzedpreexisting,deidentifieddatathat
representedtheparticipant’sscoresonthePost-TraumaticStressDisorderChecklist(PCL-5).ThePCL-5wascompletedaspart
ofapilotprogramoperatedinpartnershipbetweentheVeteranandMilitaryAffiliatedResearchCenter(VMARC)andalocal
aquarium.ScoresonthePCL-5werecollectedpriorto(T1),midway(T2),andimmediatelyafter(T3)completionoftheProject
SealtoHealprogram.Changesinthescoresofeachitemwerereportedfortheparticipant,foraggregateditemsthat
representeddifferentclustersofPTSDsymptoms,andforoverallscores.Resultsrevealeddecreasedscoresin11ofthe20PTSD
symptom-relateditems,improvementinthesumscoresforeachcriteriasymptomcluster,anda15-pointdecreaseintheoverall
PCL-5score,indicatingclinicalsignificance.Theseresultsserveasacalltomotivatefutureresearchinvestigatingpinniped
interactionswithveteranswhohavePTSDinordertodeterminetherapeuticclinicalapplicationandoutcomes
Keywords :
Pinnipeds and PTSD , Analysis , Human-Animal Interaction Case Study Program , Veteran , VMARC
Journal title :
Occupational Therapy International
