Extending Hospital Visitation Rights to Family Dogs: The Possibility of Personal Pet Therapy

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Bradley, J. (2019). Extending Hospital Visitation Rights to Family Dogs: The Possibility of Personal Pet Therapy. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

This research investigated the way in which pet therapy services are perceived within the context of child life specialists working in pediatric healthcare facilities. The research explored how child life specialists feel about pet therapy and, ultimately, consider the impact that pet therapy may or may not have on psychological well-being and quality of life for chronic pediatric patients. There is a critical need for well-founded information regarding the effects of pet therapy on hospitalized children. This research may assist in starting to provide justification for further scientific exploration on pet therapy in clinical settings in addition to justifying a need for the incorporation of personal pet therapy and visitation into all clinical settings. The research is supported by the theories of John Bowlby, Urie Bronfenbrenner, and Boris Levinson. While utilizing a non-experimental design, a developed measure (in survey-form) assisted in gathering perceptions of child life specialists. These perceptions were explored and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results reported perceptions that were favorable towards existing pet therapy services as well as the possibility of personal pet therapy. Overall, the participants supported the idea that extended separation from family dogs can have a negative impact on pediatric patients. Responses reflected a noteworthy support towards conceptualized personal pet therapy and the benefits it could have on the pediatric patients’ overall and psychological wellbeing. The research potentially encountered limitations of culturally diverse opinions regarding animals and all past individual experiences with animals and/or pet therapy. Additional limitations to the research stemmed from a lack of existing literature on the effects of pet therapy in clinical settings along with the understanding that a large portion of existing support for pet therapy research is based almost entirely on theory. The results from this study warrant further exploration on the potential and positive impact of personal pet therapy.

Details
Author

Bradley, Jenna

Title

Extending Hospital Visitation Rights to Family Dogs: The Possibility of Personal Pet Therapy

Physical Description

1 online resource (42 pages) : PDF

Date

2019

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

This research investigated the way in which pet therapy services are perceived within the context of child life specialists working in pediatric healthcare facilities. The research explored how child life specialists feel about pet therapy and, ultimately, consider the impact that pet therapy may or may not have on psychological well-being and quality of life for chronic pediatric patients. There is a critical need for well-founded information regarding the effects of pet therapy on hospitalized children. This research may assist in starting to provide justification for further scientific exploration on pet therapy in clinical settings in addition to justifying a need for the incorporation of personal pet therapy and visitation into all clinical settings. The research is supported by the theories of John Bowlby, Urie Bronfenbrenner, and Boris Levinson. While utilizing a non-experimental design, a developed measure (in survey-form) assisted in gathering perceptions of child life specialists. These perceptions were explored and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results reported perceptions that were favorable towards existing pet therapy services as well as the possibility of personal pet therapy. Overall, the participants supported the idea that extended separation from family dogs can have a negative impact on pediatric patients. Responses reflected a noteworthy support towards conceptualized personal pet therapy and the benefits it could have on the pediatric patients’ overall and psychological wellbeing. The research potentially encountered limitations of culturally diverse opinions regarding animals and all past individual experiences with animals and/or pet therapy. Additional limitations to the research stemmed from a lack of existing literature on the effects of pet therapy in clinical settings along with the understanding that a large portion of existing support for pet therapy research is based almost entirely on theory. The results from this study warrant further exploration on the potential and positive impact of personal pet therapy.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Medical sciences
Developmental psychology

Degree

M.Ed.

Keywords

Attachment
Child Life Specialists
Dogs
Pediatrics
Perceptions
Pet Therapy

Subject Area

Child & Family Studies

Advisor(s)

Smith, JaneDiane

Committee Members

Correa, Vivian
Lamorey, Suzanne

Degree Note

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2019.

Rights Statement

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For additional information, see http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/.

Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Bradley_uncc_0694N_12239

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:2051