Animal assisted therapy: systematic review of literature

Purpose  to verify the applications of AAT in health by performing a systematic review of the literature.

Research strategy  a survey was carried out in four databases with the descriptors: animal assisted therapy, horse assisted therapy, speech therapy.

Selection criteria  article published between 2010 and 2018, in Portuguese or English, free electronic access and that mentioned the characteristics of the intervention program.

Data analysis  criteria: casuistry, area of knowledge, program characteristic, type of research, year and language of publication, nationality, periodical and impact factor.

Results  43 articles published in 30 journals, 16 with impact factor, were reviewed. Clinical studies prevailed (93.02%), 37.20% were from Medicine, the population studied had different diagnoses and ages, 55.81% with adults / elderly. AAT was used preferentially for physical rehabilitation (67.44%) and the main mediator was the dog, mentioned in 72.09% of the articles. Eight (n = 8) programs with a focus on communication intervention were described.

Conclusion  There is scientific evidence on the use of AAT published in the period studied, in Brazil and in the world. The programs were used by different health and education professionals. The AAT goals were specific to the profile of the participants, and consistent with the characteristics of the mediator animal and the site.

Keywords
Animal Assisted Therapy; Autistic Disorder; Equine-Assisted Therapy; Speech, Language and Hearing