Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Medicine and Health Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Nursing Campus Therapy Dog, Deborah A. Hall Nov 2019

Nursing Campus Therapy Dog, Deborah A. Hall

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

An acknowledged bond has existed between humans and animals throughout history. Therapeutic physical and psycho-social effects of these bonding relationships have been noted in health care settings. Professional nursing education is known to be one of the most demanding and stressful fields of study. Students begin to experience extreme stress early in their nursing education. An animal-assisted intervention with a therapy dog is an innovative and inexpensive action that can help decrease the stress, anxiety, and depression students experience in higher education.

The focus of this dissertation portfolio was an animal-assisted intervention with a nursing campus therapy dog. The initial …


Animal-Assisted Interventions In Health Care Settings: A Best Practices Manual For Establishing New Programs, Sandra B. Barker, Rebecca A. Vokes, Randolph T. Barker Jan 2019

Animal-Assisted Interventions In Health Care Settings: A Best Practices Manual For Establishing New Programs, Sandra B. Barker, Rebecca A. Vokes, Randolph T. Barker

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Growing literature around the benefits of animal-assisted intervention (AAI) spurs health care professionals and administrators to start new programs. Yet the trend also raises questions of how best to begin and run successful AAI programs—under what circumstances, with what staff, and within what guidelines.

Animal-Assisted Interventions in Health Care Settings: A Best Practices Manual for Establishing New Programs succinctly outlines how best to develop, implement, run, and evaluate AAI programs. Drawing on extensive professional experiences and research from more than fifteen years leading the Center for Human-Animal Interaction in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, the authors discuss both …