Paws & Breathe®: Interspecies stress reduction collaboration to support clinician well-being

Abstract

Achieving the quadruple aim for healthcare will be actualized through the efforts of those providing care. The health of clinicians impacts patient outcomes and was deemed essential to the former triple aim for healthcare of enhancing patient experience, improving population health, and reducing costs. Alarming rates of stress among clinicians has been identified as a public health problem. While workplace and system improvements are required, at the heart of clinician health are personal practices in care-of-self, including stress management. Ironically, clinicians learn and teach patients ways to manage stress, yet they may not use these very practices for themselves. Effective, non-pharmacologic interventions need to be made available to clinicians to support their well-being. This article reports on a unique approach, Paws & Breathe®, that combines two evidenced-based stress reduction interventions, diaphragmatic breathing, and Animal Assisted Interventions. ,Paws & Breathe® is an evidence-based non-pharmacologic intervention designed to mitigate stress.