The Hospital Research Foundation Group Impact Report - Flipbook - Page 69
MILITARY AND EMERGENCY
SERVICES HEALTH
Dogs’ support for
mental health
Dogs are called a man’s best friend, and
for military personnel facing mental health
challenges, they also play an important role
in supporting mental health and wellbeing.
And yellow labrador Quattro is hoping to
prove this even more.
With funding from The Hospital Research
Foundation Group, nurse Rosie Barnes is
analysing the impact Quattro has on the
mental health of inpatients at the Jamie
Larcombe Centre, with the hope of expanding
the eligibility criteria for assistance dogs.
“Our unit specialises in veteran mental health,
and we know assistance dogs help reduce
anxiety, improve socialisation, enhance
veteran functioning and reduce symptom
severity around PTSD,” Rosie said.
“There’s a lot of research around the impact
of assistance dogs on veterans with PTSD,
but not for other mental health challenges,
or more specifically on facility dogs.”
Thank you for making this work possible!
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