Facilitators and barriers to the use of service dogs: an exploratory study using the Theoretical Domains Framework

Abstract

Purpose: Given the scarcity of service dogs to help individuals with mobility impairments in the community, it is crucial to identify facilitators and obstacles to the acquisition and use of service dogs in order to optimize their use and have a positive impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities. The goal of this study was to describe perceived facilitators and barriers influencing the acquisition and use of service dog by owners and rehabilitation providers, including those who had and had not recommended service dogs.

Method: We conducted a phenomenological qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with nine service dog owners and 13 rehabilitation professionals in Canada. Our questionnaires were based on the Theoretical Domains Framework and the data were analyzed using a thematic content approach.

Results: Knowledge, beliefs about consequences, and environmental context and resources were the domains most frequently mentioned by both dog owners and rehabilitation professionals. While service dog owners placed greater importance on their belief in their capacity to get and use service dogs, rehabilitation professionals focussed more on their role and identity within the process.

Conclusion: Improving the knowledge of the availability and process of acquiring service dogs would be important for rehabilitation professions to improve the quality of life and functional capabilities of persons with disabilities.

Implications for rehabilitation

• Identifying determinants of service dog acquisition and use can support proposed strategies to optimize the use of this assistive technology;

• Determinants of service dog acquisition and use are are different for dog owners and rehabilitation professionals, which suggest the need of tailored knowledge translation strategies;

• Knowledge, beliefs about consequences, and environmental context and resources were the categories of determinants perceived as being more influential on the process.

Keywords:

• Assistance dog
• service dog
• implementation
• facilitators and obstacles
• Theoretical Domains Framework

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Noël Champagne from the MIRA Foundation, as well as Jean-François Cantin and Chantal Guerette from the Center intégrée universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale (CIUSSS-CN), who supported us throughout this study. Marie-Ève Lamontagne and François Routhier are Research Scholars of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRSQ-S).

Disclosure statement

MEL, CV, CC, FR, MDA and AB have no conflicts of interest to declare. At the time of the study, MPJ was a clinician at the CIUSSS-CN but is now employed by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec.