O'Loughlin, Mary, Edwards, Rachael, Bould, Em, Devine, Sue, and Downing, Sandra (2024) Animal-assisted interventions in adult hospital rehabilitation settings: A scoping review. Nursing & Health Sciences, 26 (3). e13138.

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Abstract

Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) have the potential to enhance people's well-being and function and are increasingly being implemented across a range of settings. This scoping review explored how AAIs have been used in adult hospital rehabilitative care. Using JBI and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a systematic search of four databases was undertaken. Inclusion criteria involved adults, aged >18 years, who had received AAIs in the hospital rehabilitation setting. Twenty-two articles met the inclusion criteria. Results identified two intervention types: visitation activities (n = 8 studies) and structured therapeutic interventions (n = 14 studies). Dogs were the most common animal species. Improvements in social and emotional well-being were reported across both types of interventions, with improvements in ambulation, motor skills, and verbal communication reported by those engaged in structured therapeutic interventions. Implementation challenges included a dependency on volunteer dog-handlers; the need for better recording of interventions in medical records to enable evaluation; and cost, safety, infection control, and animal welfare considerations. Strengthening the planning of AAIs is fundamental for the realization of potential outcomes from human–animal interactions in hospital rehabilitative care.

Item ID:	83438
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1442-2018
Copyright Information:	This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. © 2024 The Author(s). Nursing & Health Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
Funders:	Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC)
Date Deposited:	12 Aug 2024 22:14
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420699 Public health not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200499 Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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