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This is an innovative project to say the least: the Institut Curie has decided to welcome a dog to comfort patients and caregivers.
This is a first in France. Institut Curie has just set up an innovative “canine mediation” project to support caregivers and patients treated in hospital.
A dog that soothes caregivers and patients
The new recruit, a two-year-old dog named Snoopy, has several missions: to relax patients in the waiting room or in consultation and to visit the sick just before anxiety-provoking treatment.
In the break room, the presence of Snoppy will also lighten the “emotional charge” of the nursing staff and will be able to bring them a breath of fresh air in their daily lives.
In short: both patients and caregivers will benefit from its soothing presence.
“Snoopy quickly adapted to his new environment and became essential to healthcare professionals and patients. Its presence aims to bring a little sweetness in the difficult and uncertain times of the disease, or during waiting times (consultation, examinations, hospitalization)“, explains Isabelle Fromantin, head of the wound and healing research unit.
A wave of “animal welfare”, which will be assessed through a study called M-KDOG, carried out with 3 teams from the Institut Curie (the medical oncology day hospital team, the support care and the medical oncology hospitalization team).
The purpose of the survey? Analyze the feeling of well-being of caregivers, patients and their families, in contact with the dog.
“We are confident in the valuable benefits that a mediation dog can bring to patients when they do not wish to communicate, when they are anxious, and especially with children and adolescents. For our care teams, it is one of the levers to lighten the weight of the days and the emotional load. We hope that the results of this innovative study conducted at the Institut Curie will be positive and beneficial for patients and caregivers in order to encourage other structures to embark on this path.“, reveals Professor Steven Le Gouill, Director of the Hospital Complex.
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