Faculty Mentor
Dr. Messina
Major/Area of Research
Nursing
Description
Chronic dialysis patients are dependent on a hemodialysis machine to cleanse their blood of waste that is normally excreted by healthy functioning kidneys. The average number of hemodialysis treatments required per week are three with an average treatment time being three to four hours per treatment. Discontinuation of hemodialysis will result in death. The only way to eliminate the need for hemodialysis is a kidney transplant (National Kidney Foundation, 2008, 2013). Hemodialysis is not without its inherent risks. Side effects can include but are not limited to: hypotension, cardiovascular complications, cramping from fluid removal, and bleeding (Aguera, Martin-Malo, Alvarez-Lara, Garcia-Montemayor, Canton, Soriano, & Aljama, 2015; Vijayalakshmi, & Rayidi, 2015; Zolfaghari, Asgari, Bahramnezhad, AhmadiRad & Haghani, 2015). Depression is common in patients with end-stage renal disease (Saeed, Ahmad, Ghafoor, & Kanwal, 2012, 946). Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression. AAT is a broad term used to describe the utilization of various species of animals in diverse manners beneficial to humans (American Veterinary Medical Association, 2016). The simple act of petting a dog has been found to reduce loneliness, anxiety, depression, and social isolation (Cherniack & Cherniack, 2014; Moretti, DeRhonchi, Bernabel, Marchetti, Ferrari, Forlani, Negretti, Sacchetti & Atti, 2011). For the purpose of this study AAT is defined as the use of canines that are pet therapy certified. The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a relationship between the uses of AAT during hemodialysis in a hospital based freestanding hemodialysis center and a reduction in depression in chronic hemodialysis patients.
Included in
Animal Assisted Therapy and Reducing Depression in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients
Chronic dialysis patients are dependent on a hemodialysis machine to cleanse their blood of waste that is normally excreted by healthy functioning kidneys. The average number of hemodialysis treatments required per week are three with an average treatment time being three to four hours per treatment. Discontinuation of hemodialysis will result in death. The only way to eliminate the need for hemodialysis is a kidney transplant (National Kidney Foundation, 2008, 2013). Hemodialysis is not without its inherent risks. Side effects can include but are not limited to: hypotension, cardiovascular complications, cramping from fluid removal, and bleeding (Aguera, Martin-Malo, Alvarez-Lara, Garcia-Montemayor, Canton, Soriano, & Aljama, 2015; Vijayalakshmi, & Rayidi, 2015; Zolfaghari, Asgari, Bahramnezhad, AhmadiRad & Haghani, 2015). Depression is common in patients with end-stage renal disease (Saeed, Ahmad, Ghafoor, & Kanwal, 2012, 946). Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression. AAT is a broad term used to describe the utilization of various species of animals in diverse manners beneficial to humans (American Veterinary Medical Association, 2016). The simple act of petting a dog has been found to reduce loneliness, anxiety, depression, and social isolation (Cherniack & Cherniack, 2014; Moretti, DeRhonchi, Bernabel, Marchetti, Ferrari, Forlani, Negretti, Sacchetti & Atti, 2011). For the purpose of this study AAT is defined as the use of canines that are pet therapy certified. The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a relationship between the uses of AAT during hemodialysis in a hospital based freestanding hemodialysis center and a reduction in depression in chronic hemodialysis patients.