Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena
| Thesis Title | Pet Therapy in sanitary field: benefits, guidelines and nurse's role in animal assisted therapy. |
|---|---|
| Name | Del Prete Giuliana |
| Supervisor(s) | Minozzi Cinzia |
| Academic Year | 2017/18 |
| Thesis type | Non research thesis |
Abstract
The aim of this dissertation is to underline the benefits of Pet Therapy in the sanitary field and the relevant nursing role. The motives which have led me to write this dissertation lie on the support and unconditioned love which Sfiber (my and my boyfriend’s beautiful Golden Retriever) has managed to give me during my university course of study. He could draw a smile from me even when I was feeling very sad.
For the implementation of this dissertation, I performed a revision of the literature concerning the application of Animal assisted therapy in the sanitary field. The following databases were examined: PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINHAL (EBSCO) by including as keywords “Pet” “Pet therapy” “Animal assisted therapy ” “Nurse” “Patient ” “Child” using AND and OR as Boolean operators. Furthermore, 5 official documents of the Ministry of Health and the Nursing Code of Conduct were revised.
The results of this literature revision show the existence of several studies which prove that the animal assisted therapy can generate multiple effects on human health in different fields: hospital, psychiatric, pediatric, cardiologic, oncological and geriatric. In addition to this, further to the interaction with an animal, cerebral areas are activated releasing specific neuro hormone substances and physical, psychological and social effects can be present, as well. Nursing implications were also detected as for the nursing role and the applicability of Pet Therapy in different clinical contexts.