Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
REHAB Basel, Clinic for Neurorehabilitation and Paraplegiology, Basel, Switzerland.
Neuropediatrics. 2020 Aug;51(4):267-274. doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1708545. Epub 2020 Mar 16.
Dog-assisted therapy (DAT) is increasingly applied in neurorehabilitation of patients with severe neurological impairments. To date, there are only anecdotal reports investigating its effects.
This study was aimed to evaluate the potential of DAT in pediatric inpatient neurorehabilitation for severely neurologically impaired children and adolescents, to identify characteristics of patients receiving this therapy, characteristics of the therapy sessions, and to evaluate feasibility and extent of goal achievement.
We retrospectively analyzed 850 DAT sessions performed between 2010 and 2017 at an inpatient neurorehabilitation center. The dataset included 196 children and adolescents (Md = 5.50, 0.58-20.33 years) suffering from severe neurological impairments (disorders of consciousness in 37 patients) of various etiologies. We extracted information regarding patient and session characteristics, analyzed the predefined goals with content analysis, and examined to what extent the goals were met during DAT. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Patients received an average of 4.34 therapy sessions. A total of 247 of 392 predefined goals (63%) were reached during DAT. The most frequently achieved goal was "enhancing fun" (83%), followed by "establishing contact and communication" (81%), and "relaxation" (71%). Only one critical incident regarding the dogs' safety occurred.
DAT is a feasible approach and appears to facilitate emotional, social, and psychological goals in children and adolescents with severe neurological impairment.
犬辅助治疗（DAT）在严重神经损伤患者的神经康复中应用越来越广泛。迄今为止，只有一些关于其效果的传闻报道。
本研究旨在评估 DAT 在儿科住院神经康复中对严重神经损伤儿童和青少年的潜在作用，确定接受该治疗的患者的特征、治疗方案的特征，并评估其可行性和目标实现程度。
我们回顾性分析了 2010 年至 2017 年在一家住院神经康复中心进行的 850 次 DAT 治疗。该数据集包括 196 名患有严重神经损伤（37 名患者存在意识障碍）的儿童和青少年（中位数=5.50，0.58-20.33 岁），病因多样。我们提取了关于患者和治疗方案特征的信息，对预先设定的目标进行了内容分析，并检查了在 DAT 期间目标的实现程度。使用描述性统计方法对数据进行分析。
患者平均接受了 4.34 次治疗。在 392 个预先设定的目标中，有 247 个（63%）在 DAT 期间实现。最常实现的目标是“增强乐趣”（83%），其次是“建立联系和沟通”（81%）和“放松”（71%）。仅发生一起与犬只安全相关的严重事故。
DAT 是一种可行的方法，似乎有助于严重神经损伤儿童和青少年实现情感、社交和心理目标。
