Animal-Assited Therapy in Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure (PDF)
Background: Animal-assisted therapy improves physiological and psychosocial variables in healthy and hypertensive patients.
Objectives: To determine whether a 12-minute hospital visit with a therapy dog improves hemodynamic measures, lowers neurohormone levels, and decreases state anxiety in patients with advanced heart failure.
Definitions of Animals Used in Healthcare Settings (PDF)
Animal-assisted therapy is part of a goal-directed, individualized healthcare treatment plan for individuals with physical, social, emotional, or cognitive dysfunction, where the AAT intervention is documented in the patient’s health record. Animal-assisted therapy is conducted on scheduled visits, of a regular interval and directed or delivered by a professional within the practice scope of a health/human service provider.
Play and Pets: The Physical and Emotional Impact of Child-Life and Pet Therapy on Hospitalized Children (PDF)
Child-life therapy programs and pet-therapy programs are often used in pediatric hospital settings to provide emotional support and diversion; however there is little research about their efficacy. How play and pet therapy affect children was examined in this study of 70 hospitalized children. Self-reported mood, displayed affect, amount of touch, heart rate, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol were measured. Children and parents viewed both therapies as mood enhancing experiences for the child. Heart rates, parents’ ratings of the child’s mood, and display of positive affect were enhanced in the pet-therapy group. Pet therapy likely provides an additional supportive activity for hospitalized children.