Background: The prevalence of dementia has increased in Sweden throughout the years. Every year about 25 000 to 30 000 people become ill with dementia. Dementia can cause secondary symptoms such as anxiety, leading to powerlessness and agitation. Elderly suffering from dementia also have reduced self-esteem and lack of social skills, causing isolation and physical inactivity. The disease cannot be cured but can be alleviated and slowed down using medicines and therapies. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to, through the perspective of elderly with dementia and health care professionals, highlight the health effects that therapy dogs have on people with dementia diagnosis. Method: A literature review was used, and eleven articles were studied, two qualitative and nine quantitative. The study is based on Polit & Beck’s (2016) nine steps model. Result: Studies show significant health effects with dog-assisted therapies in people with dementia. Four themes were identified. These are psychological effects, physical effects, social effects and quality of life. Conclusion: The literature shows that dogs in-care are of great importance to people with dementia and that it should be taken more seriously since the quality of the care is improved. Clinical implications: Dog assisted therapy can offer an alternative treatment to patients with dementia that does not affect their health in a negative way but instead creates wellbeing and increases quality of life for the patients.

This study was concerned with reducing children's anticipatory anxiety when entering mental health services for the first time. The purpose of this study was to determine whether combining two effective modalities, play therapy and animal-assisted therapy, would be effective in decreasing children's biobehavioral measurements of anxiety. Specifically, this study examined the effects of the presence of a trained therapy dog during one individual 30-minute play therapy session. The experimental group consisted of 26 children who received one individual 30-minute play therapy session with the presence of a trained therapy dog. The comparison group consisted of 25 children who received one individual 30-minute play therapy session without the presence of a trained therapy dog. The SenseWear® PRO 2 armband monitor measured children's biobehavioral measurements such as galvanic skin response, temperature, and activity level (BodyMedia, Inc., Pittsburgh , PA , www.bodymedia.com). The Tanita 6102 Cardio® digital heart rate monitor measured children's pre-treatment and post-treatment heart rates (Tanita Corporation of America, Inc., Arlington Heights , IL , www.tanita.com). Five hypotheses were tested using repeated measures ANOVA with mixed factors and eta squared. All five hypotheses in this study were retained based on statistical significance at the .05 level. The combination of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) and animal-assisted therapy was shown to have little practical significance in decreasing children's first 5-minute biobehavioral measurements, middle 5-minute biobehavioral measurements, last 5-minute biobehavioral measurements as measured by the SenseWear Pro 2 armband monitor. The combination of CCPT and animal-assisted therapy was shown to have little practical significance in decreasing children's pre-treatment and post-treatment heart rate. The results of the two factor repeated measures analysis of variance with mixed factors were not statistically significant. Although, research has shown that play therapy is an effective modality in reducing children's anxiety over time, children's anticipatory anxiety was increased in the first 30-minutes of play therapy with or without the presence of a trained therapy dog. Anticipatory anxiety may have been due to the children experiencing a novel and unfamiliar situation, entering the play therapy room with a stranger, the non-structured environment of the play therapy room, or a first interaction with the armband monitor.

This is a qualitative study based on interviews held with three professionals working in the field of Animal Assisted therapy. The study looks at the effect of Animal Assisted therapy in work with people experiencing different issues or health problems, mainly children and young adults. The purpose has been to get an understanding of the work and the different relations that occur in sessions using animals and how the participation of an animal in the session can be beneficial in the healing process. The results have been related to previous research and analysed using the Attachment theory and the Self-Determination Theory.Animals are known for spreading calmness and help with self-esteem, things that can be very useful in work with humans. The animals become a bridge to create a relationship and a trust between caregiver and client which leads to faster being able to get started with the therapeutic work. In the field of social work the caregiver will come in contact with people with all different sorts of history and need for help and support. This study shows positive effects of Animal Assisted therapy in multiple different settings and target groups. This should be reason enough for the method to be a solid part of the social work practice. Despite this, the method is not as established as the caregivers in the field would have wished. They all report seeing great advantages in using animals in their work and a high recovery rate with their clients. This is also seen in the studies made in the field.

The purpose of this study was to explore the various animal assisted interventions mental health professionals incorporate in the therapeutic treatment process, as well as the various therapeutic purposes intended with each technique. Participants were recruited from animal assisted therapy related databases. Participants included professionals who practiced in the mental health field. Thirty one participants qualified for the study. A survey was developed based on information found reviewing literature related to animal assisted therapy. Nineteen animal assisted therapy techniques and ten therapeutic intentions were identified from a review of the literature. Participants were asked to rate on a Likert scale how often they incorporated each technique in their treatment process. Additionally, participants were asked to identify which therapeutic purposes they intended with each technique. Results indicated participants incorporated a variety of animal assisted techniques for various therapeutic intentions. Results indicated seven animal assisted techniques were incorporated by more than 50% of the participants. Building rapport in the therapeutic relationship was the most common therapeutic intention reported with a variety of animal assisted techniques.

Background: The elderly population is a vulnerable group, it is the nurse's responsibility to promote health and meet the nursing needs that arise. Health-related benefits for animal owners have been known since the ninth century and today animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are an accepted concept in health care. Aim: The aim is to describe the effect AAI hason the elderly in elderly care. Method: This is a general literature review. A thematic analysis has been used to compile the results from previous research. 14 articles from the databases CINAHL, Pubmed and Medline were selected for the result. 3 themes and 8 subthemes were identified: Quality of life with subthemes "Quality of life according to QUALID", "Socialinteraction", "Well-being" and "Sense of coherence", Symptom relief with subthemes "Mentalillness" and "Cognitive ability" and Physical health with subthemes "Physical activity” and “Appetite”. Results: AAI results in increased social interactions, reduction of depression, increased appetite and physical activity, improved cognition, increased well-being, sense of coherence and an improved quality of life (QoL). Conclusions: AAI can improve the health and QoL of the elderly in elderly care, especially for those with dementia. AAI can potentially reduce the use of drugs among the elderly. Further research in the field is needed to strengthen results found in several of the articles and to map the duration of the effects.

No description available.

Play therapy and animal-assisted therapy are two specialized modalities within the field of counseling. Child-centered play therapy (CCPT) is a specific theoretical approach to play therapy that regards the therapeutic relationship as the primary healing factor. With much empirical support, CCPT is considered an effective mental health treatment option for working with children. Animal-assisted therapy in counseling (AAT-C) is acknowledged in the literature as a supplemental treatment modality to an existing counseling practice. Although past researchers have shown support for AAT-C as well as CCPT, there is a current dearth of literature examining the integration of these approaches. The present study sought to understand the approach of incorporating a therapy dog into child-centered play therapy while maintaining theoretical consistency. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, I facilitated child-centered canine-assisted play therapy (C3APT) services for four children and reviewed the sessions with expert supervisors in AAT-C and CCPT. Three major themes emerged from the data: (a) principles of C3APT, (b) procedures of C3APT, and (c) relational dynamics. Implications for clinical practice and training of both therapy dogs and C3APT practitioners are also discussed.

Bakgrund: För många barn är mötet med sjukvården en ny miljö som kan skapa ångest eller rädsla vilket kan bidra till en ökad smärta eller obehaglig upplevelse för barnen. Att enbart behandla smärta med analgetika är sällan tillräckligt varför olika distraktionsmetoder kan användas för att minimera dessa känslor. Tidigare forskning har visat att vårdhunden kan ge positiva effekter på barn där läkemedelsanvändning har kunnat begränsas, dock krävs mer sammanställd forskning. Att inkludera en vårdhund i behandlingar skulle kunna minska barnets lidande.  Syfte: Att beskriva vilken effekt en vårdhund kan ha på ett barn i barnsjukvården. Metod: Allmän litteraturstudie med en deskriptiv design valdes som metod. Artikelsökning gjordes i databaserna PubMed, CINAHL samt Scopus och resulterade i 11 vetenskapliga originalartiklar med kvantitativ ansats.  Resultat: Resultatet skiljer sig vad gäller vilken effekt en vårdhund kan ha på barns ångest/oro och smärta inom barnsjukvården. Ungefär hälften av studierna påvisar en effekt där vårdhunden har lindrat både ångest/oro och smärta hos barn. Resterande del av resultatet kan inte påvisa en effekt om att en vårdhund kan lindra barns ångest/oro eller smärta i barnsjukvården.  Slutsats: Litteraturstudien visar effekter på barns ångest/oro och smärta av att använda en vårdhund inom sjukvården. Dock visar studien ingen vetenskaplig evidens om att vårdhundens användning är en metod som fungerar för alla barn. Individuella behov bör tas i beaktande där sjuksköterskan ansvarar för att se det enskilda barnet och identifiera i vilka situationer vårdhunden kan vara behjälplig. / Background: For many children, healthcare visits can create feelings of anxiety or fear, which can contribute to increased pain or unpleasant experiences. Treating pain only with analgesics is seldom sufficient, various distraction methods can be used to minimize these feelings. Previous research shows that animal assisted therapy can have positive effects and reduce the need to use drugs as treatment, however, more compiled research is required. Including animal assisted therapy in treatments could reduce the child's suffering.  Purpose: To describe what effect animal assisted therapy can have on a child in pediatric care. Method: Literature review with a descriptive design was chosen as method. Article searches were done in databases PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus and resulted in 11 quantitative original articles. Results: The results differ in terms of what effect animal assisted therapy can have on children's anxiety and pain in pediatric care. About half of the studies show an effect where animal assisted therapy has relieved both anxiety and pain. The remaining part of the result can not show an effect that animal assisted therapy can relieve children's anxiety or pain. Conclusion: Animal assisted therapy in healthcare shows some positive effects on children's anxiety and pain. However, the review sees no scientific evidence that the use of animal assisted therapy works for all children. Individual needs should be considered and the nurse is responsible for seeing the individual child and identifying in which situations animal assisted therapy can be helpful.

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) has become a popular intervention for the health and behavioral community as evidenced by media attention. The research that has been done on AAT has been mostly qualitative and anecdotal. The current study adds to the literature on AAT by collecting quantitative data on AAT. A multiple baseline design across three participants was used to evaluate the independent reading duration under a baseline condition (no dog present) and a non-contingent access to dog condition (which simulated how dog therapy is typically conducted). If reading did not increase during the non-contingent dog condition, a contingent access to the dog condition was implemented to determine if the participants would engage in increased reading duration to earn access to the dog. In this study, noncontingent access to the therapy dog resulted in increased reading duration for two of the participants. One participant showed variable results in the noncontingent phase and required the introduction of the contingent dog phase, which resulted in increases in reading duration.

Bakgrund: I Sverige började organiserade djurassisterade aktiviteter användas på 1950-talet. Det används idag inom flertalet områden och fler behandlingsmetoder som involverar djur är under utveckling. I dagsläget saknas det nationella riktlinjer och rekommendationer kring applikationsområden. Detta gör att djurassisterade aktiviteter förmodligen har potential till fler och bredare användningsområden inom omvårdnad. Syfte: Syftet med denna systematiska litteraturstudie var att undersöka inom vilka omvårdnadsområden djurassisterade aktiviteter har psykologiska samt fysiologiska effekter. Metod: Detta arbete är utformat som en systematisk litteraturstudie. De 13 studier som inkluderats har haft en kvantitativ ansats och har publicerats mellan 2009–2019. Samtliga studier har identifierats via PubMeds databas. Studierna har sedan analyserats utifrån en steg för steg metod i fem steg. Resultat: Effekter har setts inom ett flertal olika områden och med olika resultat. De mest omfattande effekterna har funnits inom vård av demenssjuka och inom äldreomsorg. Effekter som generellt förekommer är minskade depressionssymtom, förbättrad kognition, sänkta kortisolnivåer, upplevd förbättrad livskvalitet och minskad oro. Slutsats: Djurassisterade aktiviteter bör ses som ett komplement till sedvanlig vård och generell behandling. Inom vården av demenssjuka skulle många patienter gynnas av utökade djurassisterade aktiviteter. I områden som psykiatri, pediatrik och smärttillstånd kan patienter gynnas av djurassisterade aktiviteter, men fler studier med större, mer heterogena undersökningsgrupper behövs för att fastställa evidensunderlag. / Background: Animals have in Sweden been used in caregiving since the 1950´s. Today it is used in several areas and more treatments including animals are under development. Guidelines and recommendations about applications and usage have not been developed in Sweden. There are good possibilities that animal-assisted activity has the potential for more and wider usage in nursing. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to examine in which nursing areas animal assisted activities had physiological and psychological effects. Method: This bachelor thesis was designed as a systematic literature review based on 13 studies published from 2009 to 2019. All studies were acquired from the PubMed database and had a quantitative approach. The studies were later analysed thru a step by step method. Results: Effects have been showed in several areas. The most significant results have been found in care of patients diagnosed with dementia and in geriatric care. Effects that generally occur are decreased symptoms of depression, improved cognition, lower cortisol levels, perceived improved quality of life and decreased anxiety. Conclusion: Animal assisted activities could be used as a promoting addition to ordinary care but should not be used as a detached treatment. The most studied area within healthcare is different kinds of cognitive impairment, mostly patients diagnosed with dementia. Other areas of healthcare where animal assisted activities appear to have good effects both on physiological and psychological factors are different kind of psychiatric diagnoses, pain-management and paediatrics, but in these areas more research with a larger, more heterogenic population needs to be done to fully evaluate the effects.