Animal-Assisted Therapy Combined With Standard Rehabilitation for Motor Recovery in Dementia Patients in a Medical and Rehabilitation Care Unit

Sponsor
LNA SANTE
Study ID
NCT07730983
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

  • Cognitive Dysfunction ( MMSE < 24 )
  • Dementia
  • Motor Skills Disorders

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy — BEHAVIORAL
    Structured AAT sessions integrating psychomotor rehabilitation, delivered by a certified nurse-animal therapist, psychomotor therapist, and nursing assistant. Frequency: 2 sessions × 1 hour/week for 4 weeks (8 sessions). Individualized therapeutic motor objectives defined before first session. Each session: (1) welcome/emotions check-in; (2) animal introduction and contact; (3) motor exercises across 5 domains: global motor function, balance/posture, fine motor skills/praxis, body schema, sensory-motor stimulation; (4) session debrief. Animals: 1 dog and/or 2-4 rabbits. Maximum 2 participants per session.
  • Standard psychomotor rehabilitation — BEHAVIORAL
    Group psychomotor rehabilitation sessions led by the establishment's certified psychomotor therapist. Frequency: 2 group sessions × 1 hour/week for 4 weeks (8 sessions total). Sessions address fine and manual motor skills, static and dynamic coordination, posture, muscle tone, and praxis. Participants also receive individualized physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and adapted physical activity as part of standard geriatric rehabilitation care.

Study Details

The goal of this randomized study is to find out if animal-assisted therapy (AAT) - a structured program where trained animals take part in care sessions guided by health professionals - can help improve movement abilities in older adults with dementia or memory-related conditions who are staying in a medical rehabilitation unit. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Can adding animal-assisted therapy to standard rehabilitation improve participants' movement and motor abilities better than standard rehabilitation alone? * Can this combined approach help participants stay more independent in daily activities? * Can this combined approach improve participants' quality of life? * Can this combined approach reduce the risk of falls? Researchers will compare two groups: * Group 1 (experimental): Standard rehabilitation + animal-assisted therapy sessions with a trained dog and/or rabbits * Group 2 (control): Standard rehabilitation alone Both groups attend 2 one-hour rehabilitation sessions per week for 4 weeks. Participants will: * Complete movement and daily-life ability tests at the start and end of the study * Attend 8 rehabilitation sessions (over 4 weeks) * Participants in the animal therapy group will interact with a trained dog and/or rabbits during sessions, guided by a certified nurse-animal therapist, a psychomotor therapist, and a nursing assistant * Be assessed at the end of the 4-week program (Week 6) to measure any changes in motor abilities, independence, quality of life, and fall risk

Key Dates

First listed
Jul 28, 2026
Start date
Sep 30, 2026
Status verified
Jul 2026
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2027
Completion
Dec 31, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
32 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT

Arms

  • Experimental: Group Experimental : Standard Rehabilitation Combined with Animal-Assisted Therapy
    Standard rehabilitation program (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, adapted physical activity) plus structured animal-assisted therapy (AAT) sessions integrating psychomotor rehabilitation. Sessions led by a certified nurse-animal therapist, a psychomotor therapist, and a nursing assistant. Frequency: 2 sessions × 1 hour/week for 4 weeks (8 sessions total, max 2 participants/session). Animals: 1 dog (golden retriever/malinois cross) and/or 2-4 rabbits. Sessions address global motor function, balance, fine motor skills, body schema, and sensory stimulation.
  • Active Comparator: Group Control : Standard Rehabilitation
    Standard rehabilitation program as delivered at Institut Médical de Sologne (IMDS), including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, adapted physical activity, and group psychomotor rehabilitation. Psychomotor therapy: 2 group sessions × 1 hour/week for 4 weeks (8 sessions total). Sessions cover fine and manual motor skills, static and dynamic coordination, posture, muscle tone, and praxis. This represents the recognized standard of care for patients with dementia in a French medical and rehabilitation care unit.

Primary Outcome Measure

Change from Baseline in Motor Abilities as Assessed by the Geronto-Psychomotor Examination (EGP) at Week 6 [ Time Frame: Baseline (Day 0, Week 1) and End of Study (Week 6, ± 7 days) ]

Central Contacts

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