Lindsay Sally, Thiyagarajah Kavitha
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Bloorview Research Institute, 150 Kilgour Road, Toronto, ON, M4G 1R8, Canada.
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Occup Rehabil. 2022 Mar;32(1):27-43. doi: 10.1007/s10926-021-09980-9. Epub 2021 Apr 28.
Purpose Having a service dog can help increase the independence of people with disabilities and they are considered a reasonable accommodation within employment settings. The objective of this scoping review was to understand the benefits and challenges of using a service dog in gaining and maintaining employment. Methods Systematic searches of seven international databases led to 19 studies meeting our inclusion criteria. Using a narrative review approach, we analyzed these studies regarding their sample characteristics, methods, results and quality of evidence. Results Nineteen studies were included in the review, which spanned across 6 countries over a 24-year period. Our findings showed that the benefits of having a service dog included improvements in employment status, employers' recognition of service dogs as a workplace accommodation, lower absenteeism, ability to travel to work, and other career-related benefits. Challenges with having a service dog included discrimination and exclusion, and lack of employers' awareness of service dogs and people with disabilities. Conclusions Our findings highlight several benefits and challenges of having a service dog in the workplace. More research is needed to explore the impact of service dogs on employment, health and productivity in the workplace and how this may vary by type of disability and service dog.
目的 拥有一只服务犬有助于提高残疾人的独立性，并且它们在就业环境中被视为一种合理的便利条件。本范围综述的目的是了解使用服务犬在获得和维持就业方面的益处和挑战。方法 对七个国际数据库进行系统检索，得到19项符合我们纳入标准的研究。我们采用叙述性综述方法，分析了这些研究的样本特征、方法、结果和证据质量。结果 本综述纳入了19项研究，这些研究跨越6个国家，历时24年。我们的研究结果表明，拥有一只服务犬的益处包括就业状况改善、雇主认可服务犬作为工作场所的便利条件、缺勤率降低、能够通勤上班以及其他与职业相关的益处。拥有服务犬面临的挑战包括歧视和排斥，以及雇主对服务犬和残疾人缺乏认识。结论 我们的研究结果突出了在工作场所拥有服务犬的若干益处和挑战。需要更多研究来探讨服务犬对工作场所就业、健康和生产力的影响，以及这种影响如何因残疾类型和服务犬而异。
