Canine-assisted Occupational Therapy: a scoping review of the brazilian literature

• Published in: Cadernos de Terapia Ocupacional da UFSCar 2021-01, Vol.29, p.1-16
• Main Authors: Figueiredo, Mírela de oliveira, Alegretti, Ana Luiza, Magalhäes, Lilian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal assisted therapy; Animal cognition; Blood pressure; Cognitive ability; Dementia; Dogs; Families & family life; Literature reviews; Nursing homes; Occupational therapy; Older people; Pulmonary arteries; Quality of life; Rehabilitation; Therapists
• ISSN: 0104-4931; 2238-2860
• DOI: 10.1590/2526-8910.ctoAR2087

Lajoie (2003), found 20 different definitions for AAT in a literature review, and 12 different terms for the same phenomenon. [...]for terminological standardization, the term Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) was introduced, classified, and differentiated into three types: Currently, there is a significant amount of health services in industrialized countries that carry out AAT in physical and/or psychiatric rehabilitation centers. [...]AAT assists several populations, encompassing different age groups and disorders to improve emotional and psychosocial states, physical, sensory and/or cognitive skills (Şahin et al., 2018). The dog is one of the animals frequently used in AAT, preferred by professionals for being friendly, sympathetic, obedient, playful and with better and immediate interaction with people. [...]dogs are considered to have great potential to improve the physical, cognitive, functional and social skills of individuals, to increase the degree of independence and autonomy in carrying out activities of daily living and facilitating communication and interaction with humans (Şahin et al., 2018). Studies have identified stress reduction in children (Nagengast et al., 1997; Hansen et al., 1999; Viau et al., 2010), improved oxygen saturation in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (Orlandi et al., 2007), reduced heart rate variability in adults (Motooka et al., 2006), reduced diastolic blood pressure (Tsai et al., 2010), reductions in epinephrine and norepinephrine levels, pulmonary artery systolic pressure and blood pressure pulmonary capillary wedge in patients with heart failure (Cole et al., 2007), decreased serum cortisol in healthcare professionals (Barker et al., 2005), improved quality of life for residents in nursing homes with dementia (Nordgren & Engstrom, 2012) and family members of children with down syndrome and others with severe physical and mental disabilities (Stumpf & Breitenbach, 2014), increased physical activity, improved physical function and quality of life in the elderly people (Abate et al., 2011 ; Friedmann et al., 2015b), improved performance of daily living and walking skills of women living in nursing homes due to dementia (Nordgren & Engstrom, 2012), and decreased pain in hospitalized children (Braun et al., 2009).