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

Autor: Jessica Chubak, Gaia Pocobelli, Rebecca A. Ziebell, Rene J. Hawkes, Amanda Adler, Jennifer F. Bobb, Danielle M. Zerr
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Pediatric Health Care. 37:173-178
ISSN: 0891-5245
DOI: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2022.09.011
Popis: 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.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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