Quantum Leap Farm Founder Edie Dopking, PhD, QLF At EASE Director, Carla Staats, MA, CAP, Co-Director Jenna Miller, MA, lead Recreation Therapist at Bay Pines Medical Center’s long term care facility, Stuart Sidell, MS, CAS, CTRS and Bay Pines VA Medical Center Recreation Therapist, Tracy Jones, CTRS have designed a quantitative single-subject design study to investigate the effects of equine-assisted therapies on the perceived quality of life of veterans undergoing palliative care for terminal medical conditions.
They chose to use single-subject design (SSD) to explore quality of life changes in this small sample of palliative care patients for several reasons: time constraints inherent in the palliative care population; emphasis on individual outcomes and clinical significance; and ability to make inter and intra-subject comparisons.
Subjects were compared with him or herself during cycles of treatment versus non-treatment allowing investigators to assess variations within and across subjects. This allowed investigators to make valuable inferences about both the validity and generalizability of findings.
Two psychosocial questionnaires, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the Missoula-VITAS Quality of Life Index (MVQOLI) were used to measure outcomes. Both questionnaires were developed for use in this population and have been used extensively. The GDS is an indicator of a person’s degree of depression, and the MVQOLI measures different dimensions related to quality of life (symptoms, function, interpersonal relationships, well-being, and transcendence) and gathers 3 types of information about those dimensions (assessment, satisfaction, and importance).
Participants were nearing end of life and were experiencing increasing pain and functional compromise. As one would expect, not all participants scored positive results on each measurement, but positive results were produced in every dimension measured. In this population, the clinical significance of even small improvements in one or more dimensions measured cannot be underestimated. At a time when time is short and suffering is great, even small increments of improvement can be very impactful with regard to quality of life.
Our research team and their colleagues from Bay Pines VA Medical Center have presented their findings locally at Bayfront Hospital and regionally in Biloxi Mississippi (see below). The team presented nationally in Spokane Washington in September of 2010 and has plans to publish their study in a refereed professional journal soon thereafter.
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH
Co-Presenter: Coasting Toward Success, American Therapeutic Recreation Association Mid-Year Professional Issues Forum, Biloxi, Mississippi, February 2010. “The Effect of Equine Assisted on Improved Quality of Life for Palliative Care/End of Life Patients”.
Co-Presenter: St. Petersburg Recreation Therapy Conference, American Therapeutic Recreation Association, Bayfront Medical Center, St. Petersburg, Florida, January 2010. Topic: “Recreation Therapy’s use of Equine Assisted Therapy to Improve Quality of Life”.
Poster Co-Author: The 3rd Annual VA Mental Health Conference, Veterans’ Administration Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Washington, DC, July 2009. Topic: “Utilization of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) for Veterans with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness in the MHICM Program: A Recovery-Oriented Therapy Aimed at Increasing Social Skills and Community Integration”.
Invited Speaker: 2008 Independence Exposition and Conference, United Spinal Association, Orlando, Florida, August 2008. Topic: “Therapeutic Horseback Riding & Hippotherapy … Alternative Exercise Therapies for Patients with Spinal Cord Injury and Other Forms of Mobility Disability”.
Invited Speaker: Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease: Solutions to Common Challenges, St. Petersburg College Continuing Education for Healthcare Professionals, St. Petersburg, Florida, November 2007. Topic: “The Use of Equestrian Therapy in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease”.
Invited Speaker: Parkinson’s Disease Non-Motor Aspects of Parkinson’s and Thinking Outside the Box (Therapies), St. Petersburg, FL, October 2006. Topic: “Therapeutic Horseback Riding: Have Fun, Make Friends, & Fight the Progression of Parkinson’s Symptoms”.
Poster Co-Author: The 26th Annual Williamsburg Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Conference, Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Williamsburg, VA, June 2002. Topic: “Hippotherapy . . . Not Just Horsin’ Around! Rehabilitation benefits of Therapeutic Riding for Traumatic Brain Injury”.
Panel Member: The 21st Annual Meeting of the Southern Gerontological Society, Raliegh, NC, March 2000. Topic: “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on an Aging Society”.