Vårdhundskolan i Sverige har laget en omfattende liste over litteratur.

Delta Society har også en god oversikt på sin nettside.

Kontakt oss gjerne om forskning og andre fagrelaterte spørsmål på faglig@nodat.no.

Hund på recept : den professionella vårdhunden
Ingeborg Höök

PET ASSISTED THERAPY
A Loving Intervention and an Emerging Profession
Leading to a Friendlier, Healthier, and More Peaceful World
Salotto, Pearl

Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy:
Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice
Fine, Aubrey H.

Therapy Pets: The Animal-Human Healing Partnership
Crawford, Jacqueline J., Pomerinke, Karen A.

Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others
Diamond Davis, Kathy

101 creative ideas for animal assisted therapy.
2010. Stacy Grover.
En bok for å gi ideer til hvordan du kan bruke hunden din for å hjelpe mennesker med ulike behov.

Animal assisted therapy in Counseling
2005. Cynthia K. Chandler.
En bok om hvordan hunder kan nå fram til mennesker i ulike situasjoner som fengsler eller i terapirommet. Også noen ideer om hvordan man kan velge ut og siden oppdra et dyr for å bli et vellyket terapidyr.

Animal assisted Interventions for individuals with autism
2008. Merope Pavlides.
En bok om hvordan man kan bruke dyr i terapi med autister. Den gir også et innblikk i nettopp hvorfor terapidyr kan egne seg så godt for denne brukergruppen.

Miller og Ingram fra Association of Operating Room Nurses skriver i en artikkel fra 2000 at samvær med dyr har vært vist å senke blodtrykk og kolesterol, dempe angst, og å forbedre folks følelse av velvære. Dyreassistert terapi kan brukes i behandlingen av operasjonspasienter. På denne måten kan man redusere stress før en operasjon,  motivere pasienter til en positiv holdning, motivere pasienter til aktivitet etter operasjoner, samt å redusere behovet for  smertestillende medisin.

I American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry fra 2001 kan man lese at denne behandlingen førte til mer bevegelse, mellommenneskelig kontakt og kommunikasjon og bedre personlig hygiene og selvstell. Dyreassistert terapi var også et vellykket verktøy for å forbedre sosialisering og generell velvære.

En studie fra Quebec i 2004 konkluderer med at DAT kan bidra til å lette psykiske påkjenninger hos barn som er innlagt på en kreftavdeling og deres foreldre, samt å lette tilvenningen til kreftbehandlingen og å øke velværen deres under innleggelsen.

Sveriges landbruksuniversitet utga i 2008 en forskningsoversikt om husdyr og folkehelse:

I studier beskrives det bl.a. at dyr i lokalene reduserer stress ved stressende arbeidsoppgaver hos friske forsøkspersoner, at dyr i klasserom og at deltagelse på rideleir signifikant minsker aggressivitet hos barn (Kaiser, 2004).

Positive effekter på innlæring, kommunikasjonsevne, fysisk helsa, atferd og emosjonell velvære karakteriserer terapiarbeid med dyr uansett målgruppenes ulike karakteristikker (Nimer & Lundahl, 2007).

Den direkte påvirkningen via berøring og oksytocinfrigjøring har vært kartlagt temmelig nøye og berøringsforskningen viser at menneske påvirkes av berøringen – og at dette aktiverer det stressreduserende systemet (Uvnes-Moberg 2008).

En gruppe med 55 universitetsstudenter fikk klappe en hund, en annen gruppe fikk klappe en lekehund og en tredje gruppe fikk sitte behagelig i en sofa. Man målte antistoffet IgA i spyttet for hver gruppe før og etter behandlingen som pågikk i 18 minutter. Gruppen som klappet hunden fikk en signifikant økning av IgA-antistoffer (Charnetski et al., 2004).

I en annen studie ble et antall fysiologiske parametrer undersøkt da 20 personer med helsefaglig bakgrunn arbeidet med en terapihund. Personene hvilte rolig i 20 minutter, og var deretter sammen med en terapihund i 5 eller 20 minutter. Resultatene viste bl.a. at nivåene av stresshormonet kortisol i både blod og spytt gikk ned da personene jobbet med hunden, og at denne senkingen skjedde allerede etter fem minutters samvær. (Barker et al., 2005).

I en undersøkelse fikk 230 barn i tredjeklasse, over ti uker, prøve ved ti tilfeller, enten å få sosial trening uten hund, med hund, eller med en hund i nærheten men uten sosial trening. Elevene viste en økning i sosial atferd og empati i alle programmene. Utover dette ble barnas åpne aggresjon og aggresjon mot andra personer redusert om de hadde gjennomgått programmet ”sosial trening med hunder” i forhold til de andre to programmene (Tissen et al., 2007).

Omgang med hester har også vist seg å ha en dempende effekt på barns aggressivitet. En pilotstudie i USA viste at etter fem dager med terapeutisk dagrideleir før barn uten psykiske eller fysiske problemer, avtok sinne og frustrasjon signifikant (Kaiser et al., 2004).

Schizofrene pasienter som fikk ha en hamster i 10 timer per dag i tre måneder viste reduserte negative symptomer og dermed økt funksjon i hverdagen (Kung, 2005).

I en sammensetning av fem studier, som alle handler om depresjoner, viste disse at om man brukte selskapsdyr ved behandling fikk man færre depressive symptomer (Souter & Miller, 2007).

En studie av pasienter med hjertesykdom viste at dyreassistert terapi ga signifikant redusert angst, og minsket hjerte-lungetrykk og lavere nivåer av nevrohormon (Cole, Gawlinski et al. 2007)

Andre artikler

Brodie, S. , Biley, F. (2002): An exploration of the potential risks assosiated with using pet therapy in healthcare setting. Journal of Clinical Nursing, no: 444-456.

DiSalvo, H. et. Al. (2005): Who let the dogs out? Infection control did: Utility of dogs in health care settings and infection control aspects. American journal of infection control, vol. 34, no. 5: 301-307.

Gagnon, J. og Bouchard, F. et. al. (2004): Implementing a hospital-based animal therapy program for children with cancer. Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal, Vol. 14, no: 4: 217-222.

Jorgenson, J. (1997): Therapeutic use of companion animals in health care. Journal of Nursing Scolarship, vol. 29, no. 3.

Velde, B. et. Al. (2005): Residents and therapists views of animal-assisted therapy: Implications for occupational therapy practice. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, no. 52: 43-50.

World Health Organisation (1981) WHO/WSAVA Guidelines to reduce human healthy risks associated with animals in urban areas, no: 6: http://www.whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/pre-wholis/VPH_81.29.pdf

Banks, M. R. & Banks, W. A. (2002). The effects of animalassisted therapy on loneliness in an elderly population in long-term care facilities.
The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 57, M428–M432.

Banman, J. K. (1995). Animal-assisted therapy with adolescents in a psychiatric facility.
Journal of Pastoral Care, 49, 274–278.

Barba, B. E. (1995). The positive influence of animals: Animal-assisted therapy in acute care.
Clinical Nurse Specialist, 9, 199–202.

Barker, S. B., Pandurangi, A. K. & Best, A. M. (2003). Effects of animal-assisted therapy on patients’ anxiety, fear and depression before ECT.
Journal of ECT, 19, 38–44.

Bernstein, P. L., Friedmann, E. & Malaspina, A. (2000). Animal-assisted therapy enhances resident social interaction and initiation in long term care facilities.
Anthrozoos, 13, 213–224.

Calvert, M. M. (1989). Human–pet interaction and loneliness: A test of concepts from Roy’s adaptation model.
Nursing Science Quarterly, 2, 194–202.

Casey, H. M. (1996). A survey of occupational therapists using pet-facilitated therapy.
Home Health Care Management and Practice, 8, 10–16.

Chinner, T. L. & Dalziel, F. R. (1991). An exploratory study on the viability and efficacy of a pet-facilitated therapy project within a hospice.
Journal of Palliative Care, 7, 13–20.

Cipriani, J., Lockavich, E., Lowe, E. A., Reese, K., Zigner, S. & Zoeller, A. (2002). A systematic review of the literature on animal-assisted therapy with the geriatric population using the tool of evidence based practice. Unpublished Masters Project. Dallas: College Misericordia.

Connor, K. & Miller, J. (2000). Help from our animal friends.
Nursing Management, 31, 42–46.

Counsell, C. M., Abram, J. & Gilbert, M. (1997). Animalassisted
therapy and the individual with spinal cord injury.
SCI Nursing, 14, 52–55.

Crowley-Robinson, P., Fenwick, D. & Blackshaw, J. (1996). A long-term study of elderly people in nursing homes with visiting and resident dogs.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 47, 137–148.

Dossey, L. (1997). The healing powers of pets: A look at animalassisted therapy.
Alternative Therapies, 3, 8–16.

Edwards, N. E. & Beck, A. M. (2002). Animal-assisted therapy and nutrition in Alzheimer’s disease. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 24, 697–712.

Ferrese, L., Forster, B., Kowalski, R. & Wasilewski, L. (1998). Occupational therapists: Perspectives on using animalassisted therapy with an elderly population. Unpublished
masters project. Dallas: College Misericordia.

Fick, K. M. (1993). The influence of an animal on social interactions of nursing home residents in a group setting. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47, 529–534.

Fine, A., ed. (2000). Handbook on animal-assisted therapy. SanDiego, CA: Academic Press.

Francis, G., Turner, J. & Johnson, S. (1985). Domestic animal visitation as therapy with adult home residents. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 22, 201–206.

Garland, C., Hayik, S., Machonis, C., McDonough, C. & Johnson, C. (1997). Emotional effects of pet facilitated therapy on hospice residents. Unpublished masters project. Dallas: College Misericordia.

Heimlich, K. (2001). Animal-assisted therapy and the severely disabled child: A quantitative study. Journal of Rehabilitation, 67, 48–54.

Janssen, M. A., (1998). Therapeutic interventions: Animalassisted therapy programs. Palaestra Macomb, 14, 40–42.

Jorgenson, J. (1997). Therapeutic use of companion animals in health care. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 29, 249–254.

Marr, C. A., French, L., Thomason, D., Thompson, L. D., Greening, G., Mormon, J., Henderson, I. & Carroll, W. H. (2000). Animal-assisted therapy in psychiatric rehabilitation.
Anthrozoos, 13, 43–47.

McQuillen, D. (1985). Pet therapy: Initiating a program. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, 73–76.

Miller, J. & Ingram, L. (2000). Perioperative nursing and animal-assisted therapy. Association of Operating Room Nurses Journal, 72, 477–483.

Phear, D. (1997). A study of animal companionship in a day hospice. Society for Companion Animal Studies Journal, 9, 1–3.

Redefer, L. A. & Goodman, J. F. (1989). Brief report: Pet facilitated therapy with autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19, 461–467.

Roenke, L. & Mulligan, S. (1998). The therapeutic value of the human-animal connection. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 11, 27–43.

Voelker, R. (1995). Puppy love can be therapeutic, too. Journal of the American Medical Association, 274, 1897.

Walsh, P. G., Mertin, P. G., Verlander, D. F. & Pollard, C. F. (1995). The effects of a ‘pets as therapy’ dog on persons with dementia in a psychiatric ward. Australian Occupational
Therapy Journal, 42, 161–166.

Willis, D. A. (1997). Animal therapy. Rehabilitation Nursing, 22, 78–81.

Winkler, A., Fairnie, H., Gericevich, F. & Long, M. (1989). The impact of a resident dog on an institution for the elderly: Effects on perceptions and social interactions. Gerontologist,
29, 216–223.

Witt, C. (2002). Animal-assisted therapy: An investigative study to define what it is, address its benefits, and describe the role of the occupational therapist in its use.
Unpublished Study. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University.

Wu, A. S., Niedra, R., Pendergast, L. & McCrindle, B. W. (2002). Acceptability and impact of pet visitation on a pediatric cardiology inpatient unit. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 17, 354–362.

Zissleman, M. H., Rovner, B. W., Shmuely, Y. & Ferrie, P. (1996). A pet therapy intervention with geriatric psychiatry inpatients. American Journal of Occupational Therapy,
50, 47–51.

Baun, M. M., Bergstrom, N., Langston, N. F., & Thoma, L. (1984). Physiological effects of human/companion animal bonding. Nursing Research, 33, 126–129.
Baxter, D. N. (1984). The deleterious effects of dogs on human health: Dog-associated injuries.

Beck, A. M., & Katcher, A. H. (1984). A new look at pet-facilitated psychotherapy. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 184, 414–421.

Bergler, R. (1988). Man and dog: The psychology of a relationship. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific.

Bernstein, P. L., Friedmann, E., & Malaspina, A. (2000). Animal-assisted therapy enhances resident social interaction and initiation in long-term care facilities. Anthrozoo¨s, 13, 213–223.

Brown, S. W., & Strong, V. (2001). The use of seizure-alert dogs. Seizure, 10, 39–41.

Bustad, L. K. (1990). Prison programs involving animals. In L. K. Bustad (Ed.),

Compassion, our last great hope (pp. 72–73). Renton, WA: Delta Society.

Chen, M., Daly, M., Natt, S., &Williams, G. (2000). Non-invasive detection of hypoglycaemia using a novel, fully biocompatible and patient friendly alarm system. British Medical Journal, 321,1565–1566.

Church, J., & Williams, H. (2001). Another sniffer dog for the clinic? Lancet, 358, 930.

Corson, S. A., & Corson, E. O. (1978). Pets as mediators of therapy. Current Psychiatric Therapy,18, 195–205.

Corson, S. A., Corson, E. O., Gwynne, P. H., & Arnold, L. E. (1975). Pet-facilitated psychotherapy in a hospital setting. Current Psychiatric Therapy, 15, 277–286.

Corson, S. A., Corson, E. O., Gwynne, P. H., & Arnold, L. E. (1977). Pet dogs as nonverbal communication links in hospital psychiatry. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 18, 61–72.

Corson, S. A., & O’Leary Corson, E. (1980). Pet animals as nonverbal communication mediators in psychotherapy in institutional settings. In S. A. Corson & E. O’Leary Corson (Eds.), Ethology and nonverbal communication in mental health (pp. 83–110). Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Crowley-Robinson, P., Fenwick, D. C., & Blackshaw, J. K. (1996). A long-term study of elderly people in nursing homes with visiting and resident dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 47, 137–148.

Dalziel, D. J., Uthman, B. M., McGorray, S. P., & Reep, R. L. (2003). Seizure-alert dogs: A review and preliminary study. Seizure, 12, 115–120.
152 Deborah L. Wells

Delafield, G. (1975). Self-perception and the effects of mobility training. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Nottingham.

Dembicki, D., & Anderson, J. (1996). Pet ownership may be a factor in improved health of the elderly. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly, 15, 15–31.

Di Natale, C., Macagnano, A., Martinelli, E., Paolesse, R., D’Arcangelo, G., et al. (2003). Lung cancer identification by the analysis of breath by means of an array of non-selective gas sensors. Biosensory Bioelectronics, 18, 1209–1218.

Edney, A. T. B. (1991). Dogs as predictors of human epilepsy. Veterinary Record, 129, 251.

Edney, A. T. B. (1993). Companion animal topics: Dogs and human epilepsy. Veterinary Record, 132, 337–338.

Folse, E. B., Minder, C. C., Aycock, M. J., & Santana, R. T. (1994). Animal-assisted therapy and depression in adult college students. Anthrozoo¨s, 7, 188–194.

Hines, L. M. (1983). Pets in prison: A new partnership. California Veterinarian, 5, 7–11.

Kaiser, L., Spence, L. J., McGavin, L., Struble, L., & Keilman, L. (2002). A dog and a happy person visit nursing home residents. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 24, 671–683.

Kirton, A.,Wirrell, E., Zhang, J., & Hamiwka, L. (2004). Seizure-alerting and -response behaviors in dogs living with epileptic children. Neurology, 62, 2303–2305.

Lane, D. R., McNicholas, J., & Collis, G. M. (1998). Dogs for the disabled: Benefits to recipients and welfare of the dog. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 59, 49–60.

Levinson, B. M. (1962). The dog as co-therapist. Mental Hygiene, 46, 59–65.

Levinson, B. M. (1969). Pet-oriented child psychotherapy. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

McCabe, B. W., Baun, M. M., Speich, D., & Agrawal, S. (2002). Resident dog in the Alzheimer’s special care unit. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 24, 684–696.

Companion animals in human health (pp. 173–186). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McNicholas, J., & Collis, G. M. (2000). Dogs as catalysts for social interactions:
Robustness of the effect. British Journal of Psychology, 91, 61–70.

Merriam-Arduini, S. (2000). Evaluation of an experimental program designed to have a positive effect on adjudicated violent, incarcerated male juveniles age 12–25 in the state of Oregon. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University.

Moody, W. J., King, R., & O’Rourke, S. (2002). Attitudes of pediatric medical ward staff to a dog visitation programme. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 11, 537–544.

Salmon, P. W., & Salmon, I. M. (1982). A dog in residence: A companion animal study undertaken at the Caulfield geriatric hospital. Joint Advisory Committee on Pets in Society (JACOPIS), Melbourne, Australia.

Sebkova, J. (1977). Anxiety levels as affected by the presence of a dog. Unpublished thesis, University of Lancaster.

Serpell, J. A., Coppinger, R., & Fine, A. H. (2000). The welfare of assistance and therapy animals: An ethical comment.

Siegel, J. M. (1993). Companion animals-in sickness and in health. Journal of Social Issues, 49, 157–167.

C. C. Wilson & D. C. Turner (Eds.), Companion animals in human health (pp. 149–157). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Strimple, E. O. (2003). A history of prison inmate-animal interaction programs. American Behavioral Scientist, 47, 70–78.

Vormbrock, J. K., & Grossberg, J. M. (1988). Cardiovascular effects of human-pet dog interactions. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 11, 509–517.

Walsh, P. G., & Martin, P. G. (1994). The training of pets as therapy dogs in a women’s prison – A pilot study. Anthrozoo¨s, 7, 124–128.

Wells, D. L. (2004). The facilitation of social interactions by domestic dogs. Anthrozoo¨s, 17, 340–352.

Wilson, C. (1991). The pet as an anxiolytic intervention. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 179, 482–489.