Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0611-252X

Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

OTD

College

School of Medicine

Department

Occupational Therapy

Committee Chair

Heather Livengood

Committee Co-Chair

Jean Meade

Committee Member

Kayleigh Nolan

Abstract

Background: Service dogs have long served as a valuable resource to assist veterans in overcoming challenges such as transitioning to post-military life, re-engaging in life roles, and navigating the community. There is substantial research on the benefits and impacts that service dogs have on the lives of veterans. Because of this, the number of service dog-veteran partnerships is on the rise, and each service dog program has its individualized programmatic method to enhance its offerings. However, there is limited information on administrative and programmatic support for service dog training programs intended for veterans and staff members. The veteran perspective is an important aspect of the success of a service dog program. It is important to incorporate veteran collaboration into the team to help capture the veteran perspective to increase positive outcomes for both the veteran and the program. Increasing the veteran perspective within the Hearts of Gold program will provide better programmatic outcomes and enhance the overall veteran and service dog training programming, a need identified during the needs assessment with the co-director of the Hearts of Gold program, as well as a gap identified within the literature.

Methods: Through a mixed-methods program development design, surveys were developed to evaluate veterans on three main aims targeted by the capstone project: (1) to update the admissions forms utilized by Hearts of Gold, so they better capture the life of the applicant and their family, (2) capture the veteran perspective and feedback on the Hearts of Gold program, and (3) create learning modules, videos, and quizzes designed to be delivered to the veteran in two phases.

Results: Aim 1 focused on developing and analyzing tools designed to obtain information from staff members and veterans regarding the admissions and veteran-service dog matching process. Aim 2 focused on analyzing the results of a tool designed to survey veterans on their perspective regarding the Hearts of Gold program once they have completed the program. Aim 3 focused on providing evidence-based and educationally enriching modules to aid in the veteran transition into the program. Major themes were identified from Aims 1 and 2: (1) individuals involved with the program, (2) the Hearts of Gold training facility, (3) the process (eligibility survey and application), and (4) definitions of terms.

Conclusion: The results of this project show the importance of incorporating the veteran perspective into a service dog training program to improve administrative and programmatic supports and enhance veteran-service dog training. This was shown through positive feedback on the implementation of each part of the capstone project and through the amount of information the program and staff were able to acquire from this process, with plans in place to increase programmatic outcomes for Hearts of Gold.

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