Nicole Troilo, OTD
Introduction
Students enrolled in post-secondary education experience a multitude of academic challenges and stressors. Occupational therapy doctoral students specifically engage in a variety of potentially stressful academic assignments in order to demonstrate competency in preparation for fieldwork and their future careers as OTs. Students experiencing stress are more likely to have to struggle with learning the content required to demonstrate clinical competency. Developing coping skills during their education is not only beneficial for academic success but also essential for effective future practice as occupational therapy professionals (Kivlen et al., 2022). Thus, finding unique interventions to support undergraduate and graduate students’ mental health and coping skills is essential. One of the emerging areas of OT literature demonstrates the positive influences of certified therapy dogs on students’ mental health within academic settings.
What are Therapy Dogs?
Therapy dogs are pet dogs who have been approved to provide emotional support to individuals in a variety of diverse settings. Therapy dogs can also be provided in individual one-on-one sessions or in group settings, dependent on what the setting and therapy dog handler determine is best for the goals of the setting and the therapy dog’s temperament.
Therapy Dogs and OT Students’ Perceptions: A Doctoral Capstone Project
After reviewing the literature on therapy dogs and OT practice, it was elected to complete a doctoral capstone project to further determine the potential benefits of introducing therapy dogs specifically into an academic setting prior to a clinical simulation lab. Students who elected to participate engaged in therapy dog visits for 15 minutes prior to completing their simulation lab. Based on survey results and qualitative feedback, the findings in the project included:
- Students’ overall mean stress scores decreased after interactions with therapy dogs.
- Subjectively reported negative physical symptoms (sweating, headache, fast HR, etc.) decreased after therapy dog interactions. There was also an increase in self-reported no symptoms after therapy dog interactions.
- Through generating themes, it was noted that students reported that social interaction, the therapy dogs, and the emotional responses generated were the most beneficial aspects of the therapy dogs.
- Approximately 94% of students reported they would like additional therapy dog visits for academic events.
Outcomes Associated with Therapy Dogs on Campus: Based on Capstone Project Results
- In addition to the subjective data captured in this capstone, future projects should focus on objective measures to better support the potential benefits of therapy dogs on campus.
- Through understanding the current literature on therapy dogs and the positive results obtained from this study, the potential for generalization of the use of therapy dogs to other clinical settings should be considered.
- By implementing and highlighting the unique roles of therapy dogs and the positive benefits of therapy dogs, this may lead to increased knowledge of therapy dogs in healthcare.
- Future capstone projects in this area could build evidence for this emerging practice area.
Links to Learn More
- https://canine.org/get-involved/therapy-dogs/
- https://www.akc.org/sports/title-recognition-program/therapy-dog-program/what-is-a-therapy-dog/
- https://muschealth.org/patients-visitors/volunteers/therapy-animal-program
- https://vet.purdue.edu/discovery/nieforth/research/human-animal-interaction.php
References
Kivlen, C., Winston, K., Mills, D., DiZazzo-Miller, R., Davenport, R., Binfet. T. J. (2022).
Canine-assisted intervention effects on the well-being of health science graduate students: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76(6). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2022.049508