Dalton Kathryn R, Altekruse William, Campbell Peter, Ruble Kathy, Carroll Karen C, Thorpe Roland J, Agnew Jacqueline, Davis Meghan F
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Baltimore Maryland.
University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Social Work.
People Anim. 2022;5(1).
Animal-assisted intervention (AAI) programs, used widely for patient benefit, have increasingly been used for healthcare workers (HCW) to reduce occupational stress. However, there are barriers to these programs which limit their utilization, for both patients and HCW, specifically infectious disease concerns. The aim of the research project is to identify barriers and facilitators to AAI program use for healthcare worker benefit, and determine knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding infectious disease risk and control policies, in order to understand the contextual parameters of program implementation.
We collected perceptions of key stakeholders involved with hospital AAI programs (HCW and AAI workers) through semi-structured in-depth interviews. We used framework analysis to guide thematic coding, completed independently by three researchers.
We interviewed 37 participants in this study. We divided our themes into two topic areas: program use for HCW and perceived infectious disease risk. Use for healthcare workers included perspectives on the benefits for HCW and program barriers and facilitators (specifically collaboration and leadership). Perceived risk included opinions on infection concerns with AAI, thoughts on control measures to reduce this risk, and responsibility for safety during these programs.
While significant benefits were reported for HCW, they were limited by administrative barriers and hazard concerns. Facilitators to surmount these barriers are best implemented with collaboration across the hospital and appropriate leadership roles to direct safe program implementation. By addressing these barriers through targeted facilitators in the form of evidence-backed guidelines, AAI programs can be used to benefit both patients and HCW.
动物辅助干预（AAI）项目广泛用于使患者受益，越来越多地被用于医护人员以减轻职业压力。然而，这些项目存在一些障碍，限制了它们对患者和医护人员的利用，特别是对传染病的担忧。该研究项目的目的是确定AAI项目用于医护人员受益的障碍和促进因素，并确定关于传染病风险和控制政策的知识、信念和做法，以便了解项目实施的背景参数。
我们通过半结构化深度访谈收集了参与医院AAI项目的关键利益相关者（医护人员和AAI工作人员）的看法。我们使用框架分析来指导主题编码，由三位研究人员独立完成。
我们在本研究中采访了37名参与者。我们将主题分为两个主题领域：医护人员对项目的使用以及感知到的传染病风险。医护人员对项目的使用包括对医护人员受益的看法以及项目的障碍和促进因素（特别是合作和领导）。感知到的风险包括对AAI感染问题的看法、对降低这种风险的控制措施的想法以及这些项目期间的安全责任。
虽然据报道对医护人员有显著益处，但这些益处受到行政障碍和危害担忧的限制。克服这些障碍的促进因素最好通过医院内部的合作以及适当的领导角色来实施，以指导安全的项目实施。通过以循证指南的形式通过有针对性的促进因素来解决这些障碍，AAI项目可以使患者和医护人员都受益。
