Project Director

Spratt, Henry

Department Examiner

Levine, David

Department

Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

The human-animal bond is a powerful and emotional connection. The bond between dogs and people can provide numerous physiological and psychological benefits as well as potentially increasing the human’s quality of life. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) utilizes the human-animal bond by incorporating a dog into the patient’s rehabilitation therapy. This case study examines if AAT sessions increase a stroke patient’s participation in the rehabilitation sessions when compared to normal sessions. Participation in therapy reduces the length of stay for patients, improves outcome measures, and lessens the effects of depression.A key part of stroke rehabilitation is incorporating exercises that increase neuroplasticity. One way to increase neuroplasticity is by making the therapy more salient, or relevant, to the patient. Stroke patients are a population that are at an increased risk for mood disorders and low participation scores. The goal of the study is to determine if participation in therapy can be improved by using a dog as an integral part of the session. There are a total of 20 therapy sessions recorded. The PRPS scores for AAT averaged to be 3.25 (95% CI .83). The PRPS average for normal sessions was 2.33 (95% CI .23). The p-value was <0.016 showing statistical significance. The subjective and objective results show that AAT significantly increases patient participation.

IRB Number

IRB #:17-167

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

5-2019

Subject

Pets -- Therapeutic use; Human-animal relationships

Keyword

Animal assisted therapy; Stroke patient; Participation; Case study

Discipline

Environmental Sciences

Document Type

Theses

Extent

30 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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