Beneficial effects of animal-assisted visits on cancer patients during radiation-chemotherapy
Updated: Feb 5, 2020
Beneficial effects of animal-assisted visits on quality of life during treatment
Contact with animals has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, decrease depression, and reduce pain perception in children.
In a randomized, repeated-measures study of 76 adults, 10 investigators compared systolic pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and epinephrine and norepinephrine levels in 3 groups: 1 that received a 12-minute visit from a volunteer with a therapy dog; 1 that received a visit from an unaccompanied volunteer; and a control group that received the standard care.
After the intervention, the volunteer-dog group had the greatest decreases in all areas.
Please see the full details of this study here.