OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to perform a study to explore nurse work anxiety.

BACKGROUND: Nurses experience work anxiety with chronic stressful situations, high-acuity assignments, and rigorous patient care standards. The purpose of this study was to determine whether animal-assisted therapy during active worked hours would reduce nurse work-related anxiety.

METHODS: Animal-assisted therapy interventions were performed for both day and night shifts. Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) tool was used pre and post intervention. Direct patient care RNs and LPNs were recruited within one of the inpatient units or medical group's outpatient clinics. Each nurse interacted with the therapy dog for at least 10 minutes.

RESULTS: Pet-assisted therapy as an intervention for nurses during work reduced work-related anxiety (t = 5.878, P < 0.05). A Pearson's correlational study displayed a strong positive correlation between the animal-assisted therapy and reduction in BAI scores (r = 0.7717, R2 = 0.5955).

CONCLUSION: This prospective study has shown that nurse work anxiety significantly decreased during worked hours of active bedside care when the nurses actively engaged with a therapy dog.

What is the research design?

List the dependent variable(s).

List the independent variable(s).

What was the sampling method?

What were the results of the study?

Are the results statistically significant?

What type of sampling methodology was used in this study?

Identify one research design that is higher (stronger) and one that is lower (weaker) than the one utilized in the study.

Objective: Pet therapy is an effective method in reducing stress and anxiety levels in the treatment and care of children. This study aimed to determine the effects of pet therapy on the stress and social anxiety levels of physically disabled children.

Method: This study was a single-blind randomized controlled experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and follow-up design. The study was carried out between November 2019 and September 2020 in two separate Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers with a total of 44 physically disabled children, 23 in the control and 21 in the intervention group, who met the inclusion criteria. The NCT number of this study is NCT04231799. The data of the study were obtained through Personal Information Form (PIF), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Social Anxiety in Children Scale-Revised Version (SACS-R) and blood pressure measurements. A pet therapy program was applied to the intervention group. Apart from the standard training given in the rehabilitation center, no intervention was made on the control group

Results: After the pet therapy program intervention, it was found that there was a decrease in the mean PSS and SACS-R scores of the children in the intervention group, and this decrease was significant compared to the individuals in the control group (p<0.05).

Conclusion: It was determined that the pet therapy program was an effective intervention in reducing the stress and social anxiety levels of the physically disabled children.

What is the research design?

List the dependent variable(s).

List the independent variable(s).

What was the sampling method?

What were the results of the study?

Are the results statistically significant?

What type of sampling methodology was used in this study?

Identify one research design that is higher (stronger) and one that is lower (weaker) than the one utilized in the study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a brief pet therapy visit and a comparison intervention on anxiety in hospitalized children. This study compared state anxiety before and after structured research interventions in a c sample of children between the ages six and 17 (N = 93) in two groups. Participants who were hospitalized at the study site were invited to participate and assigned to the pet therapy group or control group, based upon timing of data collection. Participants in each group received either a visit from the research assistant, therapy dog and handler, or from the research assistant for completion of a puzzle. The child's anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Scale for Children (STAIC) S-Anxiety Scale before and after the visit and parents completed a brief background questionnaire. Intervention and comparison groups had no significant differences in key demographic factors or baseline anxiety level. While state anxiety decreased significantly in both groups, children in the pet therapy group experienced a significantly greater decrease in anxiety (p = .004). In addition, parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the pet therapy program. Study findings provide support for a brief pet therapy visit with a trained dog and handler as a tool decrease to anxiety in hospitalized children while promoting parent satisfaction. When resources for providing pet therapy visits are limited, clinicians may consider prioritizing children who are most affected by anxiety.

What is the research design? Quasi

List the dependent variable(s).

List the independent variable(s).

What was the sampling method?

What were the results of the study?

Are the results statistically significant?

What type of sampling methodology was used in this study?

Identify one research design that is higher (stronger) and one that is lower (weaker) than the one utilized in the study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a brief pet therapy visit and a comparison intervention on anxiety in hospitalized children. This study compared state anxiety before and after structured research interventions in a c sample of children between the ages six and 17 (N = 93) in two groups. Participants who were hospitalized at the study site were invited to participate and assigned to the pet therapy group or control group, based upon timing of data collection. Participants in each group received either a visit from the research assistant, therapy dog and handler, or from the research assistant for completion of a puzzle. The child's anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Scale for Children (STAIC) S-Anxiety Scale before and after the visit and parents completed a brief background questionnaire. Intervention and comparison groups had no significant differences in key demographic factors or baseline anxiety level. While state anxiety decreased significantly in both groups, children in the pet therapy group experienced a significantly greater decrease in anxiety (p = .004). In addition, parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the pet therapy program. Study findings provide support for a brief pet therapy visit with a trained dog and handler as a tool decrease to anxiety in hospitalized children while promoting parent satisfaction. When resources for providing pet therapy visits are limited, clinicians may consider prioritizing children who are most affected by anxiety.

AIM: This study examined the impact of a therapy dog intervention on baccalaureate nursing student test anxiety.

BACKGROUND: Nursing student test anxiety may hinder academic performance and program outcomes. Considering this negative impact, it is essential to implement anxiety-reducing strategies. Interaction with therapy dogs is linked with test anxiety reduction; however, minimal studies have explored this topic.

METHOD: Sample was recruited from three programs in the northeastern region of Pennsylvania. A pretest/posttest design was used to examine the impact of a therapy dog intervention on test anxiety. Repeated measures included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, heart rate, and cortisol levels. The multisite sample included 91 junior-level prelicensure BSN students.

RESULTS: The intervention had a statistically significant impact on test anxiety reduction, noted by a decrease in State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scores, heart rate, and salivary cortisol levels ( p = .00).

CONCLUSION: Therapy dog interactions are an effective strategy to reduce test anxiety. The findings from this study may assist educators to implement future interventions.

Aims and objectives: To examine the effect of working with a facility dog on paediatric healthcare professionals’ work-related burnout, job perceptions and mental health.

Background: Due to their roles caring for ill children and distressed families, paediatric healthcare professionals often experience substantial depression and burnout. According to prior research, facility dogs in children's hospitals may provide significant benefits to paediatric patients. However, their potential effects on healthcare professionals have been minimally explored.

Design: A cross-sectional design was used in adherence to the STROBE checklist.

Method: A sample of paediatric healthcare professionals working in children’s hospitals across the United States were recruited. Among 130 participants, n = 65 paediatric healthcare professionals working with a facility dog were compared to n = 65 control participants matched on age, gender identity, job position category and pet ownership. Hierarchical regression assessed the effect of working with a facility dog on standardised self-report measures of work-related burnout, job perceptions and mental health.

Results: For work-related burnout, working with a facility dog was associated with higher perceived personal accomplishment, but had no effect on emotional exhaustion. With respect to job perceptions, working with a facility dog was associated with more positive job descriptions and lower intention to quit, but not with perceptions about co-workers or workplace social support. Finally, in relation to mental health, working with a facility dog was associated with more positive emotions, better perceived mental health and less depression, but had no effect on anxiety.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that facility dogs may be related to several benefits for healthcare professionals’ work-related burnout, job perceptions and mental health, but that they do not influence all components of these areas.

Forty-eight students engaged with a therapy dog for 15 minutes during finals week to evaluate the effect on stress. Psychological (Perceived Stress Scale, visual analog scales) and physiologic stress (vital signs, salivary cortisol) measures were collected before and after the intervention. Paired t tests showed significant reductions in all psychological and physiologic measures except diastolic blood pressure. This supports animal-assisted therapy as an effective stress management strategy for nursing and other college students.

Loneliness is a common problem in long-term care facilities (LTCF) and previous work has shown that animal-assisted therapy (AAT) can to some degree reverse loneliness. Here, we compared the ability of a living dog (Dog) and a robotic dog (AIBO) to treat loneliness in elderly patients living in LTCF. In comparison with a control group not receiving AAT, both the Dog and AIBO groups had statistically significant improvements in their levels of loneliness. As measured by a modified Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (MLAPS), residents showed high levels of attachment to both the dog and AIBO. Subscale analysis showed that the AIBO group scored lower than the living dog on “animal rights/animal welfare” but not on “general attachment” or “people substituting.” However, MLAPS measures did not correlate with changes in loneliness, showing that attachment was not the mechanism by which AAT decreases loneliness. We conclude that interactive robotic dogs can reduce loneliness in residents of LTCF and that residents become attached to these robots. However, level of attachment does not explain the decrease in loneliness associated with AAT conducted with either a living or robotic dog.

Children living with cancer must cope with the disease, frequent hospitalizations, aggressive treatments and numerous treatment side effects. Combined, these stressors can lead to adverse biopsychosocial effects. An animal therapy program called “A Magical Dream” was instituted for children hospitalized in pediatric oncology to promote their well-being during hospitalization and facilitate their adaptation to the therapeutic process. The main goal of this preliminary study was to complete a descriptive assessment of the program implementation using Donabedian’s quality model. This study aims more specifically at documenting the observed connection between participating in the program, quality of care and satisfaction of participating parents and nurses. A total of 16 parents of children and 12 nurses took part in the implementation study and composed the sample. Data were collected through two self-administered questionnaires intended for parents and one questionnaire for nurses. Evaluating the quality of the animal therapy program includes issues related to user profiles, animal therapy intervention process, organizational structure and client outcomes. It appears that dog-assisted therapy may contribute to alleviate psychological distress in children and parents, facilitate their adaptation to the therapeutic process, and promote their wellbeing while hospitalized. The goal of a second phase to the project will be to verify the effectiveness of the animal therapy intervention by targeting more specifically children hospitalized with solid tumours.

Background: Any illness places a significant burden on patients, including deterioration in quality of life. Animal assisted therapy may be helpful in the rehabilitation process and in the treatment of patients to alleviate this phenomenon.

Methods: The research was conducted in 2019 and 2020 in a rehabilitation center in Budapest. In our study, the control and experimental groups received the same therapy, but the rehabilitation treatment of the intervention group was complemented by dog therapy. Patients were evaluated by means of the short form Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale, Visual Analog Scale for pain and the WHO-5 Well-being Index. For statistical analysis paired T-test and ANCOVA was performed.

Results: 58 randomly selected participants in both groups took part in the research. Results confirm that both groups showed statistically significant improvement in all outcome measures, except for depression symptoms in dog therapy group. Quality of life of the participants improved significantly, their pain and anxiety levels were significantly reduced, they felt significantly less burdened by the disease in their daily lives. Therapeutic-dog sessions had a large effect on patients’ quality of life and anxiety.

Conclusions: There is a strong case for animal assisted therapy as a complementary therapy in the rehabilitation program, and it is proposed that consideration should be given to the application of this method on a larger scale within health care.