Discipline of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Occupational Therapy, Assistance Dogs Australia, Engadine, New South Wales, Australia.
Aust Occup Ther J. 2022 Aug;69(4):475-492. doi: 10.1111/1440-1630.12801. Epub 2022 Apr 25.
Assistance dogs are trained to support persons living with disability and mitigate limitations that hinder their participation in everyday activities. Despite participation being a frequent challenge for people with disabilities, evidence linking assistance dog provision to improved participation outcomes is underdeveloped. This scoping review aimed to improve understanding by mapping the participation outcomes claimed in research on assistance dogs using the International Classification of Functioning (ICF), Disability and Health framework.
Using the Arksey and O'Malley's six-step framework, this scoping review searched six databases. Data were collected, mapped and summarised in accordance with the domains outlined in the ICF.
In total, 38 studies across 41 papers met the inclusion criteria. Included studies investigated assistance dogs who were partnered with people living with physical disabilities, mental illness, autism and chronic conditions that require alerting (e.g., epilepsy and diabetes). Mapping of participation outcomes suggested that assistance dogs can have a positive impact on participation in many areas of daily life.
Findings can assist practitioners, funders and policymakers to recognise the value of assistance dogs as a support for people with disability. However, further research is needed to address limitations regarding study designs, for example, the outcome measures used.
协助犬经过训练，以支持残疾人士生活，并减轻限制其参与日常活动的障碍。尽管参与对残疾人士来说是一个常见的挑战，但将协助犬的提供与参与结果的改善联系起来的证据仍不充分。本范围界定综述旨在通过使用国际功能、残疾和健康分类（ICF）框架，对协助犬研究中声称的参与结果进行映射，从而增进对该问题的理解。
本范围界定综述使用阿特金森和奥马利的六步框架，在六个数据库中进行搜索。按照 ICF 中概述的领域，对数据进行收集、映射和总结。
共有 38 项研究，涉及 41 篇论文，符合纳入标准。纳入的研究调查了与身体残疾、精神疾病、自闭症和需要警报（例如癫痫和糖尿病）的慢性疾病患者合作的协助犬。参与结果的映射表明，协助犬可以对日常生活的许多领域的参与产生积极影响。
研究结果可以帮助从业人员、资助者和决策者认识到协助犬作为残疾人士支持的价值。然而，需要进一步研究解决研究设计方面的限制，例如所使用的结果测量方法。
