title: Palliative care and use of animal-assisted therapy.
abstract: A growing body of research and clinical reports support the benefits of utilizing animal-assisted therapy (AAT) as a complementary, transdisciplinary treatment intervention in medical settings. However, fewer articles are found demonstrating AAT's use in palliative care settings. This article is a study of the effects of AAT in palliative care situations, presenting one anecdotal clinical vignette. In this way, the efficacy of this technique in decreasing patient pain, thereby increasing patient quality of life, and lowering staff stress levels may be illustrated.
authors: St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, California 92868-3857, USA. suzyengelm@aol.com
authors: Suzanne R
authors: SR
authors: Engelman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D056447:Animal Assisted Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D061214:Patient Safety; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control; D016896:Treatment Outcome