Objective

Determine the effects of animal assisted interactions (AAI) on activity and stress response in pediatric acute care settings.

Design

Randomized treatment control design.

Setting

Inpatient pediatric acute care units (PICU, CVICU and Hematology/Oncology).

Patients

Eighty pediatric inpatients (49% male) age 2-19 years.

Intervention

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.

Measurement and results

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.

Conclusion

AAI benefits children in pediatric acute care units.