The Experience of Animal Assisted Therapy on Patients in an Acute Care Setting.

Animal assisted therapy (AAT) programs are popular and there has been a proliferation of programs across settings. However, the research to support this intervention has not kept pace. This is particularly so for people who are hospitalized. This investigation aimed to explore the effects of the AAT dog visitation program on patients. A single group pre-post quasi-experimental design evaluated the effect of pet therapy on patients. Measures included salivary cortisol, anxiety, wellbeing, comfort, respiratory and heart rate. Analysis indicates a significant reduction in heart and respiratory rates p < .01 and level of anxiety p < .000 with improved levels of comfort and well-being p < .000. The salivary cortisol result was non-significant p = .623. This ATT dog program resulted in reduced anxiety levels and decreased heart and respiratory rates while improving subjective measures of comfort and wellbeing.