The role of the human-canine bond in recovery from substance use disorder: A scoping review and narrative synthesis protocol

Recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) can be conceptualized as a personal journey that includes connection with self and others, as well as animals – known as the human-animal bond (HAB). Research shows that canines are the most common type of animal integrated into animal-assisted interventions to support people with SUD and that there is growing acknowledgement of companion animals in the lives of people with SUD. Yet, to our knowledge, there has been no review of the evidence related to the role of canines specific to SUD and recovery. To address this gap, the objective of this scoping review is to examine the literature on the role of the human-canine bond with respect to recovery from SUD among adolescents and adults, including how the bond may help or hinder recovery. The review will consider papers that describe the human-canine bond with respect to SUD recovery in any recovery- or therapy-related setting globally. Several databases will be searched for published and unpublished literature in the English language from database inception to present. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews will be used, and two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full texts, and extract information from the included articles using a piloted data extraction sheet. The reference lists of included articles will be examined for any additional sources. A thematic approach will be used to examine the extracted data, and the findings will be presented using a tabular analysis and a narrative summary.