Table 1. Study characteristics of N = 27 studies separated by longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, ordered by publication year.
| Study, Publication typea | Country/Region | Dog type | Comparison condition | N (treatment/ control) | Participant age (years) | % Male participants | Provider organization(s) | Impairments (% total sample) | Assessment time points | ||
| Mb | SDb | Rancgec | |||||||||
| LONGITUDINAL | |||||||||||
| Donovan 1994T [28] | USA | Mobility | Waitlist; Pre | 52 (26/26) | 35.1 | 10.9 | NR | 50% | CCI | 23% Genetic disability, 45% disability caused by accident, 17% disability caused by illness, 14% CP | T1: 0mo, T2: 4mo |
| Allen & Blascovich 1996P [14] | USA | Mobility | Waitlist; Pre | 48 (24/24) | 25 | 1.3 | NR | 50% | NR | 46% SCI, 8% MD, 33% MS, 13% TBI | T1: 0mo, T2: 6mo, T3: 12mo, T4: 18mo, T5: 24mo |
| Gilbey 2003T, [29] | UK | Hearing | Pre | 14 (14/NA) | NR | NR | NR | NR | HDDP | 100% Hearing-impaired | T1: 0mo, T2: 6mo |
| Study #1 | |||||||||||
| Collins 2004T [30] | USA | Mobility | Waitlist; Pre | 20 (11/9) | 42.0 | 11.2 | 18+ | 62% | Paws with a Cause, CCI | 100% Mobility-impaired wheelchair/scooter users | T1: 0mo, T2: 3mo, T3: 9mo |
| Guest et al. 2006P [13] | UK | Hearing | Pre | 51 (51/NA) | 51 | NR | 22–87 | 22% | HDDP | 2% Moderate hearing loss, 43% severe hearing loss, 55% profound hearing loss | T1: 0mo, T2: 9.5 +/-6.1mo (end of waiting period), T3: 5 days after T2 (end of 5-day resident training to receive dog), T4: 3.9 +/- 1.4mo after T3, T5: 20.3 +/- 5.4mo after T3 |
| Rabschutz 2006T [31] | USA, Canada | Mobility, hearing | Pre | 15 (15/NA) | 46.7 | 14.2 | 29–73 | 33% | NEADS | 33% Deafness, 66% mobility impaired, 20% multiple disabilities | T1: 0mo, T2: 6mo |
| Rintala 2008P, [32] | USA | Mobility | Waitlist; Pre | 33 (18/15) | 47.2 | 12.5 | 21–69 | 24% | THSD, NEADS, PPSD | 64% Quadriplegia, 36% paraplegia | T1: 0mo, T2: 7.09 +/- 0.98mo (treatment), 6.87 +/- 0.50mo (control) |
| Study #1 | |||||||||||
| Rintala 2008P, [32] | USA | Hearing | Waitlist; Pre | 10 (6/4) | 48.5 | 17.5 | 21–76 | 20% | THSD, NEADS | 90% Severe hearing loss, 10% moderate hearing loss | T1: 0mo, T2: 6.89 +/- 0.61mo (treatment), 6.70 +/- 0.77mo (control) |
| Study #2 | |||||||||||
| Hubert et al. 2013P [33] | Canada | Mobility | Pre | 11 (11/NA) | 32.7 | 12.8 | 18+ | 77% | MIRA Foundation | 38% Paraplegia, 38% quadriplegia, 23% low level spina bifida | T1: 0mo, T2: 7mo |
| Spence 2015T [34] | New Zealand | Mobility | Pet Dog; Pre | 17 (7/10) | 49.1 | 13.6 | 21–68 | 35% | MADT | 12% CP; 29% MS, 18% 18% MD, 18% Parkinson’s disease, 18% SCI, 6% stroke, 6% other | T1: 0mo, T2: 12mo |
| Vincent et al. 2017P [15] | Canada | Mobility | Pre | 17 (17/NA) | 41.9 | 15.3 | 18–64 | 53% | MIRA Foundation | 59% Paraplegia, 24% tetraplegia, 6% leg amputation, 12% CP | T1: 0mo, T2: 3mo, T3: 6mo, T4: 9mo |
| Lundqvist et al. 2018P [35] | Sweden | Mobility, hearing, diabetic, seizure | Pre | 55 (55/NA) | 43.8 | 14.0 | 17–68 | 15% | Swedish Association of Service Dogs | 36% Diabetes, 27% neurological, 22% musculoskeletal, 6% deaf/hard of hearing, 4% epilepsy, 5% other | T1: 0mo, T2: 3mo |
| CROSS-SECTIONAL | |||||||||||
| Study, Publication typea | Country/Region | Dog type | Comparison condition | N (treatment/ control) | Participant age (years) | % Male participants | Provider organization(s) | Impairments (% total sample) | Time (years) with assistance doge | ||
| Mb | SD | Rangec | |||||||||
| Hacket 1994T [36] | USA | Mobility | Waitlist | 40 (24/16) | 37.1 | 10.1 | 21–70 | 43% | Paws with a Cause | 31% SCI, 8% arthritis, 10% CP, 10% MD, 13% MS, 28% Other | M = 1.82, SD = NR, Range = 0.25–4 |
| Rushing 1994T [37] | USA | Mobility | Waitlist | 53 (32/21) | 33.4g | 7.5g | 20–55 | 85% | CCI | 100% Quadriplegia | NR |
| Refson 1999P [38] | UK | Guide | No assistance dog | 167 (82/85) | 53 | 76 | 19–94 | 40% | Guide Dogs for the Blind | 100% Visually impaired | M = 9.2, SD = NR, Range = 0.3–45 |
| Gilbey 2003T [29] | UK | Hearing | Waitlist | 131 (98/33) | 55.4 | 17.3 | NR | 25% | Hearing Dogs for Deaf People | 100% Hearing-impaired | NR |
| Study #2 | |||||||||||
| Collins et al. 2006P [39] | USA | Mobility | No assistance dog | 152 (76/76) | 44.4 | 12.1 | 18+ | 62% | Paws with a Cause, CCI | 41% SCI, 24% non-progressive disability, 34% progressive disability | M = 3.1, SD = NR, Range = 0–13.1 |
| Craft 2007T [40] | USA | Mobility | Waitlist | 86 (76/10) | 44.2 | NR | 19–72 | 17% | IAADP, CCI, CST, ADI | 100% Chronic physical disability | NR |
| Milan 2007T [41] | USA | Mobility | No assistance dog | 214 (99/115) | 44.1 | 12.9 | 18+ | 36% | Paws with a Cause, CCI | 17% Tetraplegia 20% paraplegia, 39% progressive disability, 21% non-progressive disability | M = 3.4, SD = 2.1, Range = 1.2–8.5 |
| Matsunaka & Koda 2008P [42] | Japan | Guide | No assistance dog | 80 (30/50) | 34.1 | NR | 15–67 | 55% | Japan Guide Dog Association | 100% Visually impaired | NR |
| Shintani et al. 2010P [17] | Japan | Mobility | No assistance dog | 38 (10/28) | 50.0 | 14.0 | 20–67 | 45% | NR | 45% SCI, 26% RA, 11% Stroke, 18% other | M = 1.7, SD = 0.7, Range = 0.7–3.2 |
| Crudden et al. 2017P [43] | USA | Guide | No assistance dog | 316 (101/215) | 47.7 | 12.3 | 18–65* | NR | NR | 40% Totally blind, 55% legally blind, 6% less severe visual impairment | NR |
| Davis 2017T [44] | USA | Mobility | No assistance dog | 140 (91/49) | 41.0 | 14.9 | 18–73 | 40% | AVD, ADW, ADInst, Canine Assistants, CCI, CPL, FSD, HTAD, NEADS, NSD, PPSD | 26% Amputation, 74% neurologically impaired | NR |
| Hall et al. 2017P [45] | UK | Mobility | Waitlist | 96 (72/24) | NR | NR | 18+ | 20% | Dogs for Good | 30% wheelchair user, 24% MS, 45% other impairments, 5% non-disclosed | NR |
| Study #1 | |||||||||||
| Hall et al. 2017P [45] | UK | Hearing | Waitlist | 141 (111/30) | NR | NR | 18+ | 23% | Hearing Dogs for Deaf People | 100% Hearing-impaired | NR |
| Study #2 | |||||||||||
| Yarmolkevich 2017T [46] | USA | Guide | No assistance dog | 87 (50/37)h | NR | NR | 18+ | 61% | Guiding Eyes for the Blind | 52% Totally blind, 12% Near-totally blind, 19% profoundly vision impaired, 9% severely vision impaired, 4% moderately vision impaired, 5% mildly vision impaired | M = NR, SD = NR, Range = 0.5–5+ |
| Rodriguez et al. 2018P [16] | USA | Mobility, diabetic, seizure | Waitlist | 154 (97/57) | 26.3 | 17.4 | 4–72 | 53% | Canine Assistants | 26% Seizure disorder, 22% musculoskeletal, 46% neuromuscular, 3% developmental or intellectual, 4% diabetes | M = 4.7*, SD = 3.4*, Range = 0.6–13.7* |
M, Mean; SD, Standard deviation; Pre, Prior to receiving assistance dog; NR = Information not reported;
* = Information was obtained via email correspondence with a study author.
Provider Organizations: CCI, Canine Companions for Independence; HDDP, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People; NEADS, National Education for Assistance Dog Service; PPSD, Patriot Paws Service Dogs; THSD, Texas Hearing and Service Dogs; MADT, Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust; IAADP, International Association of Assistance Dog Partners; CST, Canine Support Teams; ADI, Assistance Dogs International, Inc.; AVD, America’s Veterans Dogs; ADInst, Assistance Dog Institute; CPL, Canine Partners for Life; FSD, Freedom Service Dogs; HTAD, Honor Therapy and Assistance Dogs; NSD, National Service Dogs.
Disabilities/Conditions: SCI, Spinal cord injury; MD, Muscular dystrophy; MS, Multiple sclerosis; TBI, Traumatic brain injury; CP, Cerebral palsy; RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis.
a P, Peer-reviewed publication in an academic journal;
T, Thesis or dissertation for a Ph.D. or Master’s degree.
b Values reported to one decimal place unless not reported by authors.
c 18+ indicates that authors specified that participants were over 18, but did not provide an upper limit to age range.
d Wording used is identical to the original manuscript.
e Time since initial assistance dog placement for the treatment/assistance dog group in cross-sectional designs.
f Only median age was provided.
g Only age values for the treatment group were provided.
h Guide dog and guide dog + pet dog groups were collapsed to form the treatment group; Pet dog + no dog groups were collapsed to form the control group.