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People On The Move - Cheryl A. Krause-Parello
07/03/2012 - By Paul Williams
Cheryl A. Krause-Parello RN, Ph.D.
Working Dogs For Wounded Warriors
Colts Neck’s Dr. Cheryl Krause-Parello has experienced a unique connection between domesticated animals and their owners. She has teamed up with Colonel Mona Pearl, director for the Pentagon’s Office of Air Force Reserve Medical Directorate in Washington, D.C. Together they will lead a revolutionary research initiative: Working Dogs for Wounded Warriors: Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Their innovative two-year study, commencing at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD this summer, will explore how animal-assisted therapy may reduce the stress biomarkers present in saliva, such as cortisol and immunoglobulin A (IgA), in combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and combat-related traumatic brain injury. “We will be looking to see if their stress indicators reduce, if blood pressure falls, if they look forward to the dog coming, and if there’s a lasting effect from the canine visitation. We will take the physiologic measurements before, after and 30 minutes after the canine’s visit, and compare the results to routine care. This is an investigation to see where this type of research can lead to,” Dr. Krause-Parello says.
The team secured a grant from the TriService Nursing Research Program, which only awards research funds to military personnel. “My husband, David, a former Marine, arranged an introduction for Pearl and me to meet. We have been working together for about a year and a half to pull together a strong research team from Kean University, University of Maryland, Rutgers University, George Mason University, National Military Medical Center, and the Pentagon. We are looking forward to getting this innovative research study started,” she says.
Col. Pearl, who will record field observations and collect data during the study, adds, “I feel that animals can be a great medium for a person to feel connected to the world. We will see how they affect them not just chemically, but emotionally and holistically as well. Ultimately, we want to be able to help these soldiers re-instate themselves back into normal society and see if the animals can ease that difficult transition.”
Dr. Krause-Parello’s dissertation for her doctorate in nursing from Rutgers University focused on the effects of pet attachment and social support. She works full-time at Kean University as an associate professor in nursing and is the director of the Center for Nursing Research, which she founded in 2009. “Kean University administration, Drs. Farahi, Reilly, and Toney, have been extremely supportive with regards to my program of research through numerous internally funded research awards.” Dr. Krause-Parello conducted a similar pilot study with Kean University students. The results were recently published in a peer reviewed nursing journal, encouraging Dr. Krause-Parello to pursue the study further into the military setting.
If the results of their current study show adequate reduction in the stress indicators in combat veterans, Dr. Krause-Parello plans to take the initiative even further, and hopes it could eventually lead to medical insurance coverage for the animal-assisted therapy visits. “It would be interesting if we could figure out a way to get some medical coverage for canine visitations just like they have for nurses, social workers, or therapists who come to your house,” she says. “First, we would have to show consistent results in the studies, and then hopefully establish a viable program. Can we show that the animal-assisted therapy can lower cortisol, IgA, and blood pressure, and then in turn have a longer effect that reduces the need for medication? We just do not know yet.”
Dr. Krause-Parello attributes her passion and realization of her specialization in the animal-assisted therapy research field to her late dachshund, Samantha. “When I was going through my doctoral dissertation, faculty told me to pick a topic that I would be passionate about since I would be involved with it for a long time.”
For more information about the Center for Nursing Research at Kean University and the Working Dogs for Wounded Warriors project, please visit the Center for Nursing Research’s website at www.kean.edu/~CNR.
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANT
Patsy’s in New York City
FAVORITE MUSIC
80’s Music
FAVORITE MOVIE
Restrepo
High impact movie about the rigors that the military faces.
PET PEEVE
People who don’t know how to do their jobs.
THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
Poppy
(maternal grandfather)
Samantha
Clara Barton
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