ARTICLE REPORT #3 1

Article Report 3

Master of Occupational Therapy, Pacific Northwest University

OTH 505: Foundation of Inquiry

Dr. Malcom Cutchin

November 3rd, 2023

Crowe, T. K., Perea-Burns, S., Sedillo, J. S., Hendrix, I. C., Winkle, M., & Deitz, J. (2014).

Effects of partnerships between people with mobility challenges and service

dogs. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 194–202.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.009324
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Article 3

The study’s purpose was to investigate the relationships between people who have disabilities

and service dogs on functional performance and social interaction. The knowledge gap is

discussed by the lack of current evidence for the utilization of service dogs to aid individuals

who have disabilities. (p.195) The research was focused on identifying functional performance

by measuring time and perceived effort. Additionally, social interactions with service dogs were

measured with the number of interactions and satisfaction level. (p.195)

The study allowed maximization of internal validity by having single-subject, alternating-

treatment designs to correlate the effects of conditions (without and with a service dog) (p.199)

within two treatments. The author used randomization with assignments, data collection, and

participants before the initial meeting. The possibility of having a larger sample size would

improve internal validity. The sampling process affected external validity by the small sample

size and regional geographic restrictions, which affected the ability for broad generalization to an

extensive population. External validity was strengthened by three factors: Inclusion of the

sample had three specifications for inclusion criterion. The implications of diversity enhanced

external validity. The third strengthening factor for external validity used a known organization

skilled in training service dogs, providing a standard for training of service dogs.

The author used statistical analysis for the quantitative data (Likert scale and time measures)

and they used qualitative data (subjective opinion, perceived satisfaction rating, and comments

from the sample). The author used a mixed methods approach in their analysis. Quantitative and

qualitative data were gathered to understand the impact of service dogs on functional

performance and social interactions. The author inferred a positive impact by increasing

efficiency in functional performance tasks and an increase in social interactions for the three
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participants with mobility challenges. Increased elevation of satisfaction levels during shopping

and belief in dogs’ would show a positive correlation in social interactions. The author’s findings

were identified with functional performance by measuring time and perceived effort.

Additionally, social interactions with service dogs were measured with the number of

interactions and satisfaction level. The author's inferences/ findings gave insight into both

research questions that were hypothesized.

The author integrated findings with existing literature to help relate the research to a multi-

dimensional impact of service dog partnership regarding fatigue, functional tasks, and social

interactions with people who have mobility challenges. The thorough analysis of the literature

provided a clear relationship between the specific context of the research and service dog

interventions. The research showed there was a primary trend of limitations in the ability of this

research to be generalized to other populations of people. The region and gender of the sample

limited the ability of generalizability to the findings as well. The conclusion provided a detailed

explanation of how service dogs can help support social interactions among individuals with

mobility challenges. Service dogs were also shown to improve a client’s ability to perform

functional tasks with less time and effort. The conclusion acknowledged that further research

must be done to demonstrate the effectiveness of service dog partnerships.

The research data provides significant value to understanding the relationship of service dogs

to individuals with mobility challenges. The research is explicitly relevant to ladies with mobility

challenges. Relationships with service dogs show an increase in energy conservation from less

time and effort to complete a few tasks. The best value this research provided was the increase in

social interactions among people with mobility challenges. There are 4 key strengths of this

study. First, the conditions were randomized with or without a service dog. The second strength
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was the consistency of the interrater reliability check. The third strength was the natural

environment allowed genuine social interactions. The fourth strength comes from behavioral

responses being tracked over multiple data collections. The weakness of this study originated

from a small, focused sample of individuals who have had experience with service dogs before.

These variables prevented the findings from being generalizable to other populations.
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Reference:

Crowe, T. K., Perea-Burns, S., Sedillo, J. S., Hendrix, I. C., Winkle, M., & Deitz, J. (2014).

Effects of partnerships between people with mobility challenges and service

dogs. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 194–202.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.009324