The impact of service dogs on objective and perceived sleep quality for veterans with PTSD

One in four post-9/11 veterans (Fulton et al., 2015) have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), facing sleep disruptions as one of their most common symptoms. Service dogs have become an increasingly popular complementary intervention and anecdotes suggest they may impact sleep for veterans with PTSD. There is a need for empirical investigation into these claims through measurement and analysis of sleep quality. The purpose of this study was to longitudinally investigate the impact of service dogs on sleep quality through both objective and subjective measures. Participants in the treatment group (n=92) received a service dog after baseline, while those in the control group (n=76) received usual care alone for the duration of the study. Actigraphy (objective) and survey (subjective) data were collected longitudinally (at 0 and 3 months). Descriptive statistical tests and regression analyses were performed while controlling for baseline and demographic characteristics to compare sleep outcomes for the treatment versus control groups. Results indicated that service dog placement was significantly associated with better perceived sleep quality (overall: B=-0.12, p\u3c0.05; fear of sleep: B=-0.33, p\u3c0.001; sleep disturbance: B=- 0.45, p\u3c0.01). In contrast, no significant differences in objective sleep measures were observed (duration: B=-0.09, p=0.52; regularity: B\u3c0.01, p\u3e0.99; efficiency: B=-0.10, p=0.54). These findings suggest that while service dogs may be associated with better perceived sleep quality for veterans with PTSD, these improvements do not appear to be motion related (Actigraphy). Instead, they may be related to differences in other sleep quality determinants such as nightmares and general fear of falling asleep

Centrifugal melt spinning of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/triacontene copolymer fibres

Polyvinylpyrrolidone/1-triacontene (PVP/TA) copolymer fibre webs produced by centrifugal melt spinning were studied to determine the influence of jet rotation speed on morphology and internal structure as well as their potential utility as adsorbent capture media for disperse dye effluents. Fibres were produced at 72 C with jet head rotation speeds from 7000 to 15,000 r min-1. The fibres were characterised by means of SEM, XRD and DSC. Adsorption behaviour was investigated by means of an isothermal bottle point adsorption study using a commercial disperse dye, Dianix AC-E. Through centrifugal spinning nanofibers and microfibers could be produced with individual fibres as fine as 200–300 nm and mean fibre diameters of ca. 1–2 lm. The PVP/TA fibres were mechanically brittle with characteristic brittle tensile fracture regions observed at the fibre ends. DSC and XRD analyses suggested that this brittleness was linked to the graft chain crystallisation where the PVP/TA was in the form of a radial brush copolymer. In this structure, the triacontene branches interlock and form small lateral crystals around an amorphous backbone. As an adsorbent, the PVP/TA fibres were found to adsorb 35.4 mg g-1 compared to a benchmark figure of 30.0 mg g-1 for a granular-activated carbon adsorbent under the same application conditions. PVP/TA is highly hydrophobic and adsorbs disperse dyes through the strong ‘‘hydrophobic bonding’’ interaction. Such fibrous assemblies may have applications in the targeted adsorption and separation of non-polar species from aqueous or polar environments

Methodological rigor scoring questions.

(DOCX)</p

Number of quantitative studies (n = 20) meeting each rigor criterion, where applicable.

Number of quantitative studies (n = 20) meeting each rigor criterion, where applicable.</p

Number of studies (n = 18) reporting PTSD-specific trained tasks.

Number of studies (n = 18) reporting PTSD-specific trained tasks.</p

Participant characteristics.

Participant characteristics.</p

Forest plot on impact of service dog placement on PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) scores for veterans with PTSD.

Forest plot on impact of service dog placement on PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) scores for veterans with PTSD.</p

Prisma checklist.

(PDF)</p

Number of qualitative studies (n = 16) meeting each rigor criterion, where applicable.

Number of qualitative studies (n = 16) meeting each rigor criterion, where applicable.</p