WASHINGTON — The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a final report today reviewing the second draft of a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) monograph, The Economic Impact and Cost Effectiveness of Service Dogs for Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which assesses the economic impact and cost-effectiveness of programs involving trained service dogs or emotional support dogs and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Academies’ committee that wrote the report was tasked with conducting an iterative review of the VA’s monograph to evaluate its consistency with accepted scientific principles.

The committee’s final report commends the VA on improvements to its first draft monograph, made in response to the committee’s first report, which was shared with the VA in 2021, and also notes some concerns in the second draft of the VA’s monograph:

• The monograph’s abstract and preface should explain more clearly the lack of data for all randomized participants in the analysis, so that the casual reader will understand this important limitation.
• The monograph should include a full societal analysis.
• In parts of the monograph’s cost-effectiveness analysis, the committee found a lack of balance in the presentation of results and in the representation of the level of uncertainty.

The VA released its final monograph, the third iteration, yesterday. The committee’s first report, which reviewed the first draft of the monograph, is also now publicly available.

The National Academies’ study — undertaken by the Committee on the Review of Department of Veterans Affairs Monograph on the Economic Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Service Dogs on Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) — was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.

Contact:
Megan Lowry, Media Officer
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu