Final answer:
The best method to assess the health benefits of canine therapy in a nursing home, taking into account various ages and health statuses, would be a Randomized controlled trial as it controls for confounding variables through random assignment. Option 1.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best design to determine whether canine therapy leads to health benefits among nursing home residents, considering the variability in ages and health statuses, is a Randomized controlled trial (RCT). An RCT will allow the nursing home administrator to control for confounding variables, like age and health status, by randomly assigning participants to either the treatment group receiving canine therapy or the control group not receiving it. This randomization ensures that any differences in outcomes between the two groups can be more confidently attributed to the canine therapy itself, rather than to other factors. Option 1.
Owing to the ethical implications of withholding potentially beneficial treatment, a pure RCT might not always be possible. In such cases, alternative study designs such as observational studies or cross-sectional studies could be considered, though they are less effective at establishing causation. For ensuring the most valid results without introducing bias, RCT remains the ideal choice when possible.