systematic review animal assisted intervention dog

Programs involving animals in therapeutic programs are becoming increasingly prevalent. These programs can vary greatly in their approach, scope, and objectives, and they can significantly impact the development of healthy children and those with various disorders. In this systematic review, we sought to investigate the psychological ramifications of animal-assisted activities (AAA), therapies (AAT), and interventions (AAI). We searched for relevant studies using the EBSCO Discovery Service search engine across 85 databases, utilising appropriate keywords...

BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews suggest that animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and pet-robot interventions (PRI) achieve a reduction in mental health variables such as depressive symptoms. However, these systematic reviews include both randomised and non-randomised studies, which prevents an adequate assessment of the effect of confounding variables. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of AAT and PRI through randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in reducing depression in older adults...

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is becoming increasingly popular. The possibilities and guidelines for interventions and methods are very diverse. Currently, published studies mainly concentrate on effects in paediatrics, outpatient therapy and schools. Specific recommendations for AAT in the context of inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry do not exist. This systematic review will attempt to evaluate the existing studies in terms of their methodological quality and specify positive and negative effects, aiming to provide a decision-making aid for everyday clinical practice...

BACKGROUND: Many individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and related disorders experience insufficient symptom relief from currently available treatment options. Researching additional venues should be prioritized. This systematic review, designed in accordance with PRISMA, examined the effect of targeted and structured dog-assisted interventions as a supplementary treatment. METHODS: Randomized as well as non-randomized studies were included. Systematic searches were conducted in APA PsycInfo, AMED, CENTRAL, Cinahl, Embase, Medline, Web of Science, and in several sources covering "gray" (unpublished) literature...

BACKGROUND: Pets offer significant health benefits, from decreased cardiovascular risks to anxiety and post-traumatic stress improvements. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are not frequently practiced in the intensive care unit (ICU) for fear of health risk for critical patients because there is a hypothetical risk of zoonoses. OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aimed to collect and summarize available evidence about AAI in the ICU. The Review questions were "Do AAI improve the clinical outcome of Critically Ill Patients admitted to ICUs?" and "Are the zoonotic infections the cause of negative prognosis?"...

In the last five years, the literature on animal-assisted intervention (AAI) for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has doubled in size from 42 studies prior to 2015 to 85 studies (cumulative total assessed in 2020). Horses remain the most commonly researched animal for AAI, followed by dogs. The most commonly researched outcome was social interaction, across 21 studies. Though the quantity of studies has increased, issues with methodological rigor remain. Results highlight the need for a continued focus on methodological rigor as well as refining the structure of animal-assisted interventions, addressing the welfare needs of the animals involved, and continuing to establish an evidence base of both significant and nonsignificant findings for AAI for individuals with ASD...

The development of a therapeutic alliance represents one of the most important processes that occurs in psychological therapy and is one of the strongest predictors of treatment outcome. To ensure the effective delivery of psychological interventions, it is important to explore factors which may improve the therapeutic alliance. There are well-documented effects of human-animal interactions in social settings, and researchers have also considered the effect of dog presence on the therapeutic alliance. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) checklist...

UNLABELLED: Due to the high burden of mental health issues among students at higher education institutions world-wide, animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are being used to relieve student stress. The objective of this study was to systematically review of the effects of AAIs on the mental, physiological, and cognitive outcomes of higher education students. Randomized controlled trials using any unfamiliar animal as the sole intervention tool were included in this review. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool...

INTRODUCTION: Eating disorders (EDs) are deadly illnesses with high relapse rates, highlighting need for better interventions. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has been implemented supplementally for EDs, with horses utilized at many residential facilities. AAT shows promise with meta-analyses of randomized control trials (RCTs) showing significant decreases in depression, anxiety, and negative affect; however, no review to date has evaluated efficacy for EDs. Therefore, this study conducted a systematic review of primary literature to investigate the efficacy of AAT for EDs...

While the symbiotic nature of human-dog relationships and perceived benefits to human health have attracted much scientific interest, the mechanisms through which human-dog interactions may confer health benefits to humans are still poorly understood. The aim of this systematic literature review was to synthesize evidence of physiological changes associated with human-dog interactions with relevance to human health. Electronic databases were systematically searched (PubMed, MEDLINE with full text, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, and Web of Science Core Collection) for relevant studies...

Dogs are becoming increasingly popular in pedagogical settings. Particularly children with special educational needs are believed to benefit from dog-assisted interventions. However, reliable evidence for supporting such claims is still scarce and reports on the effectiveness of this approach are often anecdotal. With our review we aim at evaluating the literature to answer the question, whether dog-assisted interventions in an educational setting can help children with special educational needs to improve and to develop their emotional, social and cognitive skills...

Children with autism typically experience difficulties interacting socially with others when compared to their non-autistic peers. Establishing how effective interventions are for improving social functioning is important to help inform what should be offered to children with autism. This study reviewed how effective interventions that involved interaction with a live animal, known as animal-assisted interventions, are in improving social functioning in children with autism. A systematic search of the evidence on this topic found nine studies, which were explored for the effectiveness of animal-assisted interventions and the quality of methods used...

Introduction: Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs) are increasingly common in pediatric care settings as a means to promote the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of hospitalized children and adolescents. Objectives: The aim of this work was to review published studies implementing AAIs in hospital settings and to assess the effects of AAIs on the biobehavioral response to stress and pain, social behavior, quality of life and level of satisfaction with hospitalization in children and adolescents...

Background : Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are increasingly applied for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms albeit its effectiveness is unclear. Objectives : To examine the effectiveness of AAI for treating PTSD symptoms. Method : We searched 11 major electronic databases for studies reporting quantitative data on effects of AAI for children and adults with PTSD symptoms. Of 22'211 records identified, we included 41 studies with 1111 participants in the systematic review comprising eight controlled studies with 469 participants in the meta-analysis...

OBJECTIVE: Client engagement in behavioral and mental health services has been strongly linked to improved outcomes and treatment completion. Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are increasingly used to improve client engagement, for example, by involving a dog in therapy to support a client's sense of safety. Although existing research suggests that human-animal interactions may promote engagement, further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms, identify procedures needed for treatment fidelity, and determine the populations in which this intervention would be most effective...

AIM: To systematically review indexed literature related to the influence of mini-screw implant (MSI)-assisted intrusion on orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption (OIIRR). METHODS: Indexed databases were searched without time and language restrictions using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The inclusion criteria were: (a) original studies; (b) patients/subjects undergoing MSI-assisted intrusion; and (c) tomographic and/or histological assessment of OIIRR...

BACKGROUND: Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) can ameliorate diverse health problems in older adults. However, applications of AAT have been limited because of the lack of intervention guidelines for older adults. AIMS: This study aimed to explore applications of AAT to older adults, analyze its health effects, and provide evidence for future interventions. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist...

BACKGROUND: Animal-assisted interventions, in concrete dog-assisted intervention, have been introduced in prisons to reduce recidivism as well as to improve the well-being of prisoners. Therefore, the aim of the present systematic review is to provide an up-to-date analysis of the research on the effects of dog-based animal-assisted therapy in prison population. METHODS: An electronic search of the literature was performed, and 20 articles were included. The PRISMA guideline methodology was employed...

Animal-assisted interventions are widely implemented in different contexts worldwide. Particularly, animal-assisted therapies and animal-assisted activities are often implemented in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and other health facilities. These interventions bring several benefits to patients but can also expose them to the risk of infection with potentially zoonotic agents. The dog is the main animal species involved used in these interventions. Therefore, we aimed at collecting data regarding the occurrence of the pathogens ESKAPE ( Enterococcus faecium , Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Acinetobacter baumannii , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Enterobacter spp...

Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) usually contribute to the well-being and health of users/patients, but it is essential that the animals involved in these activities do not represent a source of zoonoses. This systematic review focused on the evaluation of the potential risk of the transmission of Toxocara by dogs' fur, considering their involvement as the main animal species in AAIs. Three databases were considered: MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, and the PRISMA guidelines were used. Out of 162 articles found, 14 papers were identified as eligible for inclusion in the review...