Recruitment Feasibility for a Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of Animal-Assisted Intervention for Hospitalized Older Adults

This study evaluated the feasibility of recruiting hospitalized older adults into a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing an animal-assisted intervention (AAI) involving visits from therapy dogs with an active control (conversation with a volunteer) and treatment as usual (TU) for addressing health and mental health outcomes. Recruitment occurred on acute care hospital units and a long-term physical rehabilitation facility. Feasibility data included the number of recruitment contacts, recruitment rate, and reasons for non-enrollment. The recruitment pool included 1124 patients; the recruitment rate was 4.8% (n = 54). This study explored the difficulties inherent in recruiting medically ill, hospitalized older adults for an RCT of hospital-based therapy dog visits. We believe this is the first RCT of its kind to evaluate the feasibility of recruiting this population for an animal-assisted intervention. Although the intervention was well received, older adults’ illnesses presented significant barriers to study enrollment. Strategies for improving the recruitment of hospitalized older adults for RCTs are discussed.