Veterans are more likely to experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than members of the general community. PTSD can be a debilitating disorder that negatively impacts quality of life, physical functioning and general wellbeing. However, effective psychological therapy and other treatments are available.

In recent years, psychiatric assistance dogs have emerged as an effective adjunct therapy for veterans with persistent PTSD. These specially trained assistance dogs can support veterans to recover by detecting distress and performing specific tasks to help alleviate symptoms. Since 2019, the department has provided eligible and suitable veterans with access to assistance dogs through the Psychiatric Assistance Dog (PAD) Program. As part of this program, the veteran is matched with an assistance dog, and both veteran and dog are trained so they can achieve the veteran’s clinical recovery goals together. The bond and partnership between veteran and dog are regularly checked as are their ongoing health, safety, and wellbeing.

The department has engaged AHA to develop a framework to inform future evaluation of the PAD Program. We will deliver a rigorous, technically sound and practical evaluation framework by:

• conducting a rapid literature review
• reviewing key program documents
• consulting with key stakeholders.

Our evaluation framework will consider the PAD Program’s evaluation readiness and recommend actions that the department can take to help prepare for future evaluation.