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AddictionHATNCT01795755

YATEP - The Impact of Horse Assisted Therapy (HAT) on Treatment Outcomes

A study testing Mentalization based inpatient treatment. and Horse assisted Therapy (HAT) in people with Addiction, run by Oslo University Hospital at 1 site in Norway.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The objective of the study is to assess the impact of horse assisted therapy (HAT) on: Addiction treatment outcomes (its effectiveness as an alternative therapy) Addiction treatment dropout \& addiction relapse (its efficacy in preventing dropout). Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 16 to 26 years
Conditions the study is for
Addiction
What is being tested?
Mentalization based inpatient treatment. and Horse assisted Therapy (HAT)
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
50 participants
Where
1 siteNorway
Study dates
Jan 2013to Dec 2016
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 16 to 26 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Primary diagnosis of addictionInternational Classification of Diseases ICD F10-F19, admitted in 2011-2014 for treatment at AUA's in-patient unit

Who cannot join

  • Ongoing psychoses

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Norway1 site
  • Department of addiction treatment - youth

    Oslo, 0514

Other trials in Norway

About this study

Official title: The Impact of Horse Assisted Therapy (HAT) on Treatment Outcomes

The objective of the study is to assess the impact of horse assisted therapy (HAT) on:

  • Addiction treatment outcomes (its effectiveness as an alternative therapy)
  • Addiction treatment dropout \& addiction relapse (its efficacy in preventing dropout).

Hypothesis: HAT will correlate with:

  • beneficial treatment outcomes of depression, anxiety, aggression
  • with improved self esteem \& motivation
  • lower treatment dropout \& addiction relapse.
Read the detailed description

Background Inclusion of horses in therapeutic settings is a scientific issue with significant social and health implications in Norway. Challenges include increasing provision of horse assisted therapy of variable quality to vulnerable population groups with little substantiating evidence of associated benefit(s) due to lack of research, design issues, mainstream clinicians'/scientists' scepticism of "alternative therapy" and associated difficulties in attracting top researchers and funding. Extensive review of literature found a growing volume of studies but as indicated in the most recent systematic review, there are few studies with adequate research design.

Oslo University Hospital's Dept of Addiction Treatment - Youth (AUA) presents a unique research/evaluation potential to study HAT. It will treat approximately 100 patients per year aged 16 to 26 years with a primary diagnosis of addiction. Horse assisted therapy (using AUA's residential herd) is an integral part of the addiction therapeutic program. Furthermore, AUA's strong emphasis on research and its Youth Addiction Treatment Evaluation Project (YATEP) data base will provide an evidence base needed for sound study in an emerging area of science and psychotherapy.

Patient drop out from addiction therapy is high, often exceeding 50% (Stark 1992). Many AUA patients claim that they remain in treatment because of the horses.

The study is a randomised controlled trial of in-patients undergoing treatment. The Participant Group has treatment as usual plus HAT; the Control Group treatment as usual.

Participant and control groups are drawn from AUA patients (aged 16 to 26 years of age with a primary diagnosis of addiction International Classification of Diseases (ICD F10-F19), admitted between 2013 and 2014 to AUA's in-patient unit and who have consented to participate in research.

HAT is a structured program of 12 X 90 minute therapeutic sessions with horses, including horse care, ground and mounted work, conducted by two clinically qualified therapists who are also Level I Riding Instructors.

Conditions
Addiction
Being tested
Mentalization based inpatient treatment., Horse assisted Therapy (HAT)
Keywords
Horse Assisted Therapy (HAT), Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP), clinical trial, Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), psychotherapy
Medical subject headings
Behavior, Addictive

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Mentalization based inpatient treatment.Behavioural

    1-3 month of inpatient treatment

  • Horse assisted Therapy (HAT)Behavioural

    A structured program of 12 X 90 minute HAT sessions (horse care, ground and mounted work) conducted by two clinically qualified therapists who are also Level I Riding Instructors.

Study groups in NCT01795755
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Treat as usual + Horse assisted therapy ( HAT)ExperimentalTreatment as usual means mentalization based inpatient treatment. Horse assisted therapy(HAT) is a structured program of 12 X 90 minute sessions (horse care, ground and mounted work) conducted by two clinically qualified therapists.
Receives: Behavioral: Mentalization based inpatient treatment.; Behavioral: Horse assisted Therapy (HAT)
Treatment as usualActive comparatorTreatment as usual means mentalization based inpatient treatment.
Receives: Behavioral: Mentalization based inpatient treatment.

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Lower treatment dropout

    Reason for treatment exit, including drop out, is obtained from data recorded in the Department's YATEP data base.

    Measured: Within treatment period of upto 3 months

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Lower emotional distress (composite measure)

    The measure tests whether depression, anxiety and depression improve with horse assisted therapy (as claimed in non-scientific/popular horse literature). Measurements are taken using Hopkins Symptom Check List (HSCL-25) and Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP-118) from data recorded in the Department's YATEP data base.

    Measured: Within the treatment period of upto 3 months

  2. Improved self-esteem

    The measure tests whether self-esteem improves with horse assisted therapy (as claimed in non-scientific/popular horse literature). Improvement will be measured using the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale from data recorded in the Department's YATEP data base.

    Measured: Winthin the treatment period of upto 3 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Feb 2013 (estimated)
  2. Study startJan 2013
  3. Primary completionJun 2016
  4. Study completionDec 2016

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
50 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01795755
Sponsor's protocol ID
HAT-11-1
Acronym
HAT
Status last verified
Oct 2020
First submitted
6 Jul 2012
Last updated
8 Oct 2020
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Gatti F, Walderhaug E, Kern-Godal A, Lysell J, Arnevik EA. Complementary horse-assisted therapy for substance use disorders: a randomized controlled trial. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2020 Feb 4;15(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s13722-020-0183-z.

    PubMed 32019584

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Mentalization based inpatient treatment. and Horse assisted Therapy (HAT) in people with Addiction, run by Oslo University Hospital at 1 site in Norway.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Oct 2020. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Norway. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Lower treatment dropout (time frame: Within treatment period of upto 3 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01795755, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 8 Oct 2020.

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