The Role and Impact of Animals With Pediatric Patients

Anna Tielsch Goddard, MSN, BS, RN, CPNP-PC; Mary Jo Gilmer, PhD, MBA, RN-BC, FAAN

Pediatr Nurs. 2015;41(2):65-71.

Contraindications to AFT

In some cases, the child may not be interested in dogs or might even be allergic to certain animals (Rossetti & King, 2010). Some children may have conditions that are agitated in the presence of certain animals, such as asthma or a pet-dander allergy (Morrison, 2007). Some children or families may actually be fearful of dogs or other animals. Therefore, individual assessment of the patient and possible contraindication to using an animal to facilitate therapy or treatment should be considered. Most facilities have policies not allowing AAT visits with patients who are colonized with methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus or Clostridium difficile (Marcus, 2012).

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Table 1. Differences between Types of Animal-Facilitated Therapies (AFT): Animal-Assisted Activity (AAA) and Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)
	Animal-Assisted Activity (AAA)	Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)
Definition	• Activities that involve pets visiting people • Often "meet and greet" in nature	• Integrated part of treatment plan • Often for people who have physical, social, emotional, or cognitive needs
Goals	No specific treatment goal	Specific treatment goal for each session
Activity	Same activity with many patients	Individual treatment activity for each patient
Charting	Unnecessary	Required
Visits	Spontaneous	Scheduled
Length of time	Spontaneous Differs as desired	Pre-determined to best fit the patient's needs
Example	• Dog performs tricks in patient's room • Child holds/pets visiting cat in a long-term care facility	• Goal = sequencing of events: have the child open a container of treats, break treats into pieces, feed to cat • Goal = increase ambulation skills with a physical therapist; child walks the dog short distance around facility

Source: Adapted from Pet Partners, 2012.

Table 2. Animal-Assisted Therapy Goals
Type of Goal	Examples
Physical goals	Improving fine motor skills
	Improving wheelchair skills
	Balancing while standing
Mental goals	Increasing verbal interactions between group members
	Increasing attention skills
	Developing recreation skills
	Increasing self-esteem
	Reducing anxiety or loneliness
Educational goals	Increasing vocabulary
	Improving knowledge of concepts (e.g., color, size)
Motivational goals	Improving child's willingness to be involved in group activities
	Improving interactions with others
	Exercise