Animal-Assisted Interventions for the Improvement of Mental Health Outcomes in Higher Education Students: A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials

Charlotte Parbery-Clark, Marvellas Lubamba, Louise Tanner and Elaine McColl
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Charlotte Parbery-Clark: Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Marvellas Lubamba: Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Louise Tanner: Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Elaine McColl: Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-43

Abstract: Background: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs), particularly Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Animal-Assisted Activity (AAA), in improving mental health outcomes for students in higher education. The number of students in higher education reporting mental health problems and seeking support from universities’ student support services has risen over recent years. Therefore, providing engaging interventions, such as AAIs, that are accessible to large groups of students are attractive. Methods: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched from relative inception to end of April 2020. Additionally, a grey literature search was undertaken. Independent screening, data extraction and risk of bias assessment were completed, with varying percentages, by two reviewers. Results: After de-duplication, 6248 articles were identified of which 11 studies were included in the narrative synthesis. The evidence from randomised controlled trials suggests that AAIs could provide short-term beneficial results for anxiety in students attending higher education but with limited evidence for stress, and inconclusive evidence for depression, well-being and mood. For the non-statistically significant results, the studies either did not include a power calculation or were under-powered. Conclusions: Potential emerging evidence for the short-term benefits of AAI for anxiety, and possibly stress, for students in higher education was found.

Keywords: animal-assisted interventions; mental health outcomes; stress; anxiety; higher education; systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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