Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Healthcare settings have recently increased the use of companion animals in the workplace to provide emotional support to people with disabilities, but there is limited empirical research on the effects of these programs on healthcare workers. However, it is reasonable to speculate that Animal-Assis...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/3/383 |
| _version_ | 1797489438632181760 |
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| author | Daniela Acquadro Maran Ilaria Capitanelli Claudio Giovanni Cortese Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi Maria Michela Gianino Francesco Chirico |
| author_facet | Daniela Acquadro Maran Ilaria Capitanelli Claudio Giovanni Cortese Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi Maria Michela Gianino Francesco Chirico |
| author_sort | Daniela Acquadro Maran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Healthcare settings have recently increased the use of companion animals in the workplace to provide emotional support to people with disabilities, but there is limited empirical research on the effects of these programs on healthcare workers. However, it is reasonable to speculate that Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) may have positive effects on health care workers (HCWs) by buffering the negative effects of work-related stress and other occupational psychosocial risk factors. The aim of this review was to examine the beneficial effects of AAIs on the psychological well-being of HCWs. A systematic review was conducted in December 2021 to gain insight into the positive effects of pets on HCWs in the workplace. Searches were conducted in the following databases: Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, including studies between 2001 and December 2021, and 12 articles were included in the review. The results indicate that implementing the AAI program in a busy clinic is feasible and that the program is accepted by medical professionals because of the immense psychological benefits it provides. However, the healthcare professionals disliked the experimental design that forced them to leave their workplaces at a certain time. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:17:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0843eecd39104ad99444a8010f835953 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:17:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-0843eecd39104ad99444a8010f8359532023-11-23T15:48:53ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-02-0112338310.3390/ani12030383Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the LiteratureDaniela Acquadro Maran0Ilaria Capitanelli1Claudio Giovanni Cortese2Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi3Maria Michela Gianino4Francesco Chirico5Department of Psychology, Università di Torino, 10124 Torino, ItalyPrevention Service in the Workplace (SPRESAL), Local Health Unit Roma 4, 00053 Civitavecchia, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Università di Torino, 10124 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan PMB 5116, NigeriaDepartment of Public Health and Paediatrics, Università di Torino, 10126 Torino, ItalyPost-Graduate School of Occupational Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Roma, ItalyHealthcare settings have recently increased the use of companion animals in the workplace to provide emotional support to people with disabilities, but there is limited empirical research on the effects of these programs on healthcare workers. However, it is reasonable to speculate that Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) may have positive effects on health care workers (HCWs) by buffering the negative effects of work-related stress and other occupational psychosocial risk factors. The aim of this review was to examine the beneficial effects of AAIs on the psychological well-being of HCWs. A systematic review was conducted in December 2021 to gain insight into the positive effects of pets on HCWs in the workplace. Searches were conducted in the following databases: Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, including studies between 2001 and December 2021, and 12 articles were included in the review. The results indicate that implementing the AAI program in a busy clinic is feasible and that the program is accepted by medical professionals because of the immense psychological benefits it provides. However, the healthcare professionals disliked the experimental design that forced them to leave their workplaces at a certain time.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/3/383health care workersanimal-assisted interventionburnoutpsychological well-being |
| spellingShingle | Daniela Acquadro Maran Ilaria Capitanelli Claudio Giovanni Cortese Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi Maria Michela Gianino Francesco Chirico Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature Animals health care workers animal-assisted intervention burnout psychological well-being |
| title | Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
| title_full | Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
| title_fullStr | Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
| title_short | Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature |
| title_sort | animal assisted intervention and health care workers psychological health a systematic review of the literature |
| topic | health care workers animal-assisted intervention burnout psychological well-being |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/3/383 |
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