Project Evaluating the perceived influence of service dogs on military families Program DUIRI - Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship Term Spring 2024 Status Accepted Research Area Global Health, Human-Animal Interaction Description This project will employ an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods approach to evaluate the perceived influence of a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) service dog intervention on military families. The project aims to address the global health challenge of mental health and wellbeing among military families. Students will assist in the execution and analysis of a cross-sectional evaluation exploring psychosocial outcomes of military families with service dogs. This project is a collaboration between Dr. Leanne Nieforth (Comparative Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine) and Dr. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth (Human Development and Family Studies, College of Health and Human Sciences). Thus far, most of the research about PTSD service dogs has focused on the veteran/service dog dyad, with few studies looking beyond that dyad into the effects of the service dogs on the broader military family (i.e., partners and/or children). Given that PTSD service dogs are the 3rd most placed category of assistance dogs internationally, and inherently interact with members of the family on a daily basis, it is important to evaluate their influence beyond the veteran as a matter of ensuring the overall health of military families. Evaluation is critical in identifying both benefits of the intervention and challenges that need to be addressed in order to promote safety, health, and wellbeing of military families. Supervisor Leanne Olivia Nieforth Mentor Type of work required The selected student will participate in data collection, management and analysis. The student will have the opportunity to develop their own research questions from the dataset and will be supported in answering those questions within an interdisciplinary team environment. Websites https://vet.purdue.edu/chab/ Qualifications - Strong interpersonal skills - Attention to detail - Coursework or previous research experience in qualitative and/or quantitative research methods Credit Hours 0 Weekly Hours 10 (estimated)