Increasing evidence illustrates an involvement of stress in a large variety of physical and mental illness. Together with the evolutionary development of the social behavior in humans, the traditional interpretations of the attachment theory and the social support theory underscores the importance of affection, belonging and appreciation for human well-being. Not only can an imbalanced stress system be the cause of severe pathological consequences, insufficient social contact can also hamper recovery. Frequent usage of animals in various settings steadily illustrates both physiological and psychological benefits on both the young and the old, the healthy and the ill. Through the study of neurobiological factors, with oxytocin as a central mediator of social behavior and its  impact in turn on the stress- and cortisol system, this paper examines the possibility of animals to function as social support. The potential of animals to reduce the suffering in patients with stress related psychiatric disorders, such as the highly frequent exhaustion disorder, human-animal interactions might offer a non-invasive complementary tool to current treatment methods.

Bakgrund: Antalet patienter med ångest ökar och orsakar ofta ett lidande för patienten. Sjuksköterskan har omvårdnadsansvar att lindra detta lidande. Olika djurterapier förekommer i vården för att behandla olika besvär, till exempel Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) och Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilken påverkan djur har på patienters ångest. Metod: Studien har genomförts som en litteraturstudie baserad på kvantitativa studier(n=12). Resultat: I samtliga studier framkom en sänkning av ångest vid djurterapier och i sju av studierna var det en statistiskt säkerställd sänkning. Resultatet visar främst en sänkning hos patienter som vårdas inom psykiatrin men även patienter inom den somatiska vården påverkades positivt av djuren. Diskussion: En sänkning av patienternas ångest visar att djur inom vården har en lugnande inverkan. Dock går det inte att utesluta att sänkningen berodde på andra faktorer såsom aktivitet, arbetsuppgifter eller ökad nivå av enskild uppmärksamhet. Slutsats: Djur kan vara ångestsänkande och därmed lindra patienters lidande. Kunskap som sjuksköterskan bör ha med sig i sin yrkesutövning är den inverkan djur har i patienters vårdmiljö eller i samtalsämne när vårdtagare önskar detta. / Background: The number of patients with anxiety has increased and causes often suffering for the patients. The registered nurse has a responsibility to ease patients suffering. Animals can be used in care as pet therapy, which branches into two main areas: Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) and Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of animals in patients with anxiety. Method: The study was performed as a literature review based on twelve quantitative studies. Result: There was a reduction of anxiety in connection with animal interaction. The result shows mainly a decrease of anxiety for patients treated in psychiatric wards but also for patients treated in somatic wards were positive affected. Discussion: A reduction of anxiety indicates that the experiences with animals were calming for the patients. However, we cannot exclude that the change in anxiety levels depends on other elements such as activity, work assignments or an increased level of individual attention. Conclusion: Animals can decrease anxiety and the patients suffering. That knowledge is important for the registered nurse when integrating animal in the environment or in conversation with the patients. Consideration should be taken for patients allergic to animals.

<p>This study examined constructions of horses and means staff working with horses parallel to therapy in institutional care ascribes to horses. A narrative method was used and the theoretical framework was social constructionism. A question was asked to the narratives: How can practice in institutional care be understood through these stories? The result showed different pictures of institutional care. Horses seem to provide a multi-faceted therapeutic tool. Through the horses staff could establish relations built on trust with their clients. The stable-environment and the horses provided healthy recreation and a social competence usable for clients in life. The constructions of horses also seemed related to the means ascribed to them in the daily life of the institution. So far there has been little research about animals in Swedish institutional care. If there are animals in institutions they probably fill some kind of function for social work and therefore the phenomena needs to be further examined. Especially as research claim economical and social benefits in using animals in human health care. Animals have been looked upon as trivial but the academic discipline dealing with relations between animals and humans, anthrozoology, has gained respect and is now considered serious.</p>

This study examined constructions of horses and means staff working with horses parallel to therapy in institutional care ascribes to horses. A narrative method was used and the theoretical framework was social constructionism. A question was asked to the narratives: How can practice in institutional care be understood through these stories? The result showed different pictures of institutional care. Horses seem to provide a multi-faceted therapeutic tool. Through the horses staff could establish relations built on trust with their clients. The stable-environment and the horses provided healthy recreation and a social competence usable for clients in life. The constructions of horses also seemed related to the means ascribed to them in the daily life of the institution. So far there has been little research about animals in Swedish institutional care. If there are animals in institutions they probably fill some kind of function for social work and therefore the phenomena needs to be further examined. Especially as research claim economical and social benefits in using animals in human health care. Animals have been looked upon as trivial but the academic discipline dealing with relations between animals and humans, anthrozoology, has gained respect and is now considered serious.

Bakgrund: Studier visar att hundar har en positiv effekt på den fysiska hälsan. De kan också öka det sociala samspelet, minska depression, öka självförtroende och självbestämmande samt reducera ångest genom hundassisterad aktivitet eller hundassisterad intervention. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om hundar inom ramen för omvårdnad på en rättspsykiatrisk avdelning kan påverka patienternas välbefinnande. Metod: För att undersöka patienternas upplevelser användes en kvalitativ studiedesign. För att besvara syfte och frågeställningar gjordes semistukturerade intervjuer som analyserades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys.   Resultat: Hundar på avdelningen upplevdes både positivt och negativt. De inverkade på välbefinnandet genom att de genererade glädje och välmående men också irritation och ilska. De gav också en känsla av att bli sedd som människa, ökade den fysiska aktiviteten, förbättrade sömnen och påverkade självkänslan och självförtroendet. Vårdmiljön påverkades också genom ett förbättrat klimat på avdelningen. De gav en meningsfullhet i vardagen, en möjlighet till närhet, en känsla av mindre kontrollerande miljö samt att de hade en inverkan på hur patienterna rörde sig på avdelningen. Det identifierades en ståndpunkt för hundar på avdelningen, men också en emot att ha hundar på avdelningen. Slutsats: Resultaten tyder på att det positiva överväger det negativa då majoriteten av resultatet belyser aspekter som ökar välbefinnandet hos patienterna. Hundar inom vården anses därför vara en bra komplementär omvårdnadsform för att som sjuksköterska på en rättspsykiatrisk avdelning. Detta för att kunna utföra god omvårdnad, främja välbefinnande och upprätthålla ett samhällsskydd och samtidigt reducera känslan hos patienten av att vara underordnad och kontrollerad. Det är dock viktigt att beakta olika individers åsikter för att hitta en form som passar. / Background: Studies have shown that dogs have a positive effect on humans physical health. They may also increase social interactions, decrease depression, increase peoples selfconfidence and autonomy and reduce anxiety trough animal-assisted interventions. Aim: The aim of this studie is to investigate if dogs can effect well-being in patients within forensic psychiatric care. Method: To investigate the patients experiences a qalitative reserch method were used. Semi-structured interviews were used to answer to the aim of the studie, and analysed with a content analysis. Result: The patients had both positive and negative experiences regarding the presence of the dogs at the unit. The dogs had an impact on the patients well-being by generating joy as well as anger and irritation. They gave a sense of being perceived as an individual, they increased physical activity, improved quality of sleep and had an inpact on self-esteem and self-confidence. The dogs also had an impact on the health facility environment trough an inprovement of the atmosphere at the unit. The dogs gave sense of mening in the everday life, an opportunity for intimacy, a sense of a less controlling environment and they also had an impact on how the patients moved at the unit. Some where proponents and some opponents to the impementation of dogs at the unit. Conclusion: The results shows that the positive experiences tops the negative because the majority of the results shows aspects of improved well-being. Dogs within healthcare facilities are therefore concidered to be a good complementary form of care for nurses working in forensic psychiatric care. This to perform good nursing care, promote well-being and maintain the civil protection and at the same time reduce feelings of being inferior, subordinated and controlled. It is however important to pay regards to the different idividual opinions and find a resolution that suits best.

The aim of this phenomenological qualitative study was to capture and understand the essence of the lived experiences of individuals after participating in equine facilitated psychotherapy (EFP). In that the experiences of participants after exposure to EFP have not previously been examined, this study adds to the literature on this innovative therapy. Theoretical viewpoints on animal assisted therapy and solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) were explored, as well as how the SFBT methodology compares to techniques used in EFP. Using interviews, the study involved capturing participants' experiences by collecting their descriptions of their involvement with EFP, identifying the specific experiences they noted, ascertaining what the participants did with these experiences, and discerning themes or patterns in the interview data. A purposive sample of 10 adults who had participated in EFP participated in interviews, the data from which were analyzed by hand coding. Analysis showed improved quality of life with improvements in overall well-being and in participants' relationships. The findings of this research study may lead to additional research in this area and may promote the establishment of consistent techniques in EFP, proper credentialing of those who use EFP, and applicable regulatory standards. By exploring the lived experiences of individuals who have participated in EFP, providers may be able to delve more deeply into the curative factors that may be at work with this type of therapy.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T18:12:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 camila.pdf: 1754083 bytes, checksum: 276e801339ef844d3eac988084310098 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-12 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / INTRODUCTION: By sharing our routines with animals, they became part of our culture when start to occupy different roles, besides the company. Currently, due to the benefits not restricted to common sense, but also listed from scientific research, they are in clinics, hospitals, schools and many others institutions. These studies gave itself two ways to call procedures involving animals with the purpose of taking care of human health: animal-assisted activities (AAA) and animal-assisted therapy (AAT) (DELTA SOCIETY, 2006) OBJECTIVE:Investigating the possible effects of the interaction speech therapyst-patient-dog in the operation of patients language with disturbances of language. The event set in the possibility of the device animal, in speech therapy setting, enhance the therapeutic process. METHOD: Clinical-quality research, developed in study of clinical cases mode. The ethical standards for research with humans and animals were obey.Casuistry: Three subjects, from sample unintentional: Jonas, 12; 0 years, male, with difficulties in writing / reading language; Lucas, 8; 0 years, male with school´s complaints related to difficulties in the written / reading language, summed the dismotivation for learning; Pedro, 4; 0 years, male with phonological changes that lead to segments of unintelligible speech, as well as complaints related to aggressive behavior. The animal participant was a dog without defined race (SDR), seven years old, female, selected in accordance with the criteria proposed by Aiello (DOTTI, 2005). Procedure: The clinical material was recorded in writing regularly and the sessions were recorded on digital camera bimonthly. The interpretation of the data came from theoretical benchmarks of anthropology, speech therapy, psychoanalysis and AAT. RESULTS: The AAT favored the interaction between therapist / patient, intensified the activity dialogical (LaFRANCE et al, 2007) the motivation to write and to read, the reduction of the problems manifest in writing (replacements / omissions grafemics, junction / separation misuse of words); besides mobilize the affectivity of the patients.CONCLUSION: The introduction of AAT as a therapeutic device shown to be effective in clinical cases studied. It is suggested therefore that the Speech Therapy participate more actively in this field of study, since the results corroborate the findings of research that suggests the effectiveness of AAT in various therapeutic environments / INTRODUÇÃO: Ao compartilhar nossas rotinas com os animais, estes passaram a fazer parte de nossa cultura ao ocupar diferentes papéis, para além da companhia. Atualmente, devido aos benefícios não restritos ao senso comum, mas também elencados a partir de pesquisas científicas, eles habitam consultórios, hospitais, escolas e instituições diversa. Desses estudos originaram-se duas formas de denominar procedimentos que envolvem animais com o objetivo de cuidar da saúde humana: atividade assistida por animais (AAA) e terapia assistida por animais (TAA) (DELTA SOCIETY, 2006). OBJETIVO: Investigar os possíveis efeitos da interação fonoaudiólogo-paciente-cão no funcionamento da linguagem de pacientes com distúrbios de linguagem. A hipótese configurou-se na possibilidade do dispositivo animal, no setting fonoaudiológico, potencializar o processo terapêutico. MÉTODO: Pesquisa de natureza clínico-qualitativa, desenvolvida na modalidade estudo de casos clínicos. As normas éticas para pesquisa com seres humanos e animais foram obedecidas. Casuística: três sujeitos, a partir de amostra não intencional: Jonas, 12;0 anos, sexo masculino, com dificuldades na linguagem escrita/leitura. Lucas, 8;0 anos, sexo masculino com queixas escolares relacionadas a dificuldades na linguagem escrita/leitura, somadas a desmotivação para aprendizagem. Pedro, 4;0 anos, sexo masculino com alterações fonológicas que levam a segmentos ininteligíveis de fala, além de queixas relacionadas ao comportamento agressivo, O animal participante foi um cão sem raça definida (SDR), sete anos, fêmea, selecionado de acordo com os critérios propostos por Aiello (DOTTI, 2005). Procedimento: O material clínico foi registrado por escrito regularmente e as sessões foram gravadas em câmera digital bimestralmente. A interpretação dos dados ocorreu a partir de referenciais teóricos da antropologia, fonoaudiologia, psicanálise e TAA. RESULTADOS: A TAA favoreceu a interação terapeuta/paciente, intensificou a atividade dialógica (LaFRANCE et al, 2007) a motivação para escrever e ler, a diminuição dos problemas manifestos na escrita (substituições/omissões grafêmicas, junção/separação indevida de palavras); além de mobilizar a afetividade dos pacientes. CONCLUSÃO: A introdução da TAA como dispositivo terapêutico mostrou-se eficaz nos casos clínicos estudados. Sugere-se, portanto, que a Fonoaudiologia participe mais ativamente desse campo de estudos, já que os resultados obtidos corroboram os achados de pesquisas que apontam a eficácia da TAA em ambientes terapêuticos diversos

Zootherapy is a method based on a positive interaction between animals and humans. The contact with animals has proved good in the treatment of attention and communication disorders, in ill people, in psychiatric patients, the elderly, the sensory, mentally or physically disabled people, but also in healthy individuals. The methods used are Animal Assisted Activities (AAA), Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Animal Assisted Education (AAE). Zootherapy in educational institutions has a positive impact on social relationships and learning, developing vocabulary, memory, emotions, it helps enhance self-reliance and it also has effect on physical condition of a child. The objective of this study was to survey the ways of zootherapy utilization in educational institutions in the České Budějovice region. The method of quantitative research was used to achieve the aims. Data were collected by the technique of participating observation, semi-standardized interview, documents analysis and photo-documentation. By the pilot research 9 facilities were chosen. The results have shown that the most frequently used animals are dogs and horses. Most often, zootherapy is carried out by attending the AAA program. The AAE method is not much used, although educational institutions that are involved. Zootherapy is predominantly practiced in people with disabilities. The most professionally developed technique is canistherapy. Zootherapy is provided on a regular basis. Funding is supported by grants, projects, subsidies, sponsors, parents. Educational institutions personnel have little knowledge of zootherapy. Legislature is executed mainly by a contract between the facility and the providing organization. The research outcomes suggest the following hypotheses: H 1: ``The only zootherapy provider in educational institutions within the České Budějovice region are the o.s. Hafík, o.s. Koníček and o.s. Arpida.`` H 2: ``Educational institutions in the České Budějovice region do not have conditions for the resident form of zootherapy.{\crqq} The thesis may serve as a resource for professionals, zootherapists, but also for the general public. All the information is arranged into the register of ways of using zootherapy in educational institutions.