Abstract
Determine the effects of animal assisted interactions (AAI) on activity and stress response in pediatric acute care settings.Randomized treatment control design.Inpatient pediatric acute care units (PICU, CVICU and Hematology/Oncology).Eighty pediatric inpatients (49% male) age 2–19 years.The AAI experimental group patients interacted with therapy dog teams for 5–10 min and the comparison group patients continued their current activity without an AAI visit.Salivary cortisol, activity level, and mood were assessed before and after AAI. AAI was associated with a decrease in cortisol levels and increases in mood and activity.AAI benefits children in pediatric acute care units.
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