Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Animal-Assisted Activities in Pediatric Hospitals

The goal of this study was to document current hospital-based animal-assisted activities (AAA) practices. We contacted 20 hospitals and asked about their AAA programs, including COVID-19 precautions. Eighteen of 20 hospitals responded. Before 2020, all offered either in-person only (n = 17) or both...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of pediatric health care 2023-03, Vol.37 (2), p.173-178
Main Authors: Chubak, Jessica, Pocobelli, Gaia, Ziebell, Rebecca A., Hawkes, Rene J., Adler, Amanda, Bobb, Jennifer F., Zerr, Danielle M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal-assisted activities
Animals
Child
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 Vaccines
Hospitals, Pediatric
Humans
Pandemics - prevention & control
pediatrics
Vaccination
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Summary:The goal of this study was to document current hospital-based animal-assisted activities (AAA) practices. We contacted 20 hospitals and asked about their AAA programs, including COVID-19 precautions. Eighteen of 20 hospitals responded. Before 2020, all offered either in-person only (n = 17) or both in-person and virtual AAA visits (n = 1). In early 2022, 13 provided in-person visits; the five hospitals that had not resumed in-person visits planned to restart. Most hospitals stopped group visits. Most required that patients and handlers be free of COVID-19 symptoms and that handlers be vaccinated and wear masks and eye protection. Most did not require COVID-19 vaccination for patients. None required handlers to test negative for COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted hospital-based pediatric AAA. Future studies should assess the effectiveness of virtual AAA and of precautions to prevent COVID-19 transmission between patients and AAA volunteers.
ISSN:0891-5245
1532-656X
DOI:10.1016/j.pedhc.2022.09.011