168 Low- and mid-level equine assisted services improved mood and state anxiety levels in health-care workers

The aim of this study was to measure the effect of equine assisted services (EAS) on mood and anxiety in health-care workers. While the emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt in every aspect of our society, health-care workers have been hit especially hard. A survey conducted by Mental Health America during June - September in 2020, found 93% of health-care workers were experiencing stress and 86% reported experiencing anxiety. There is research to support a wide range of interventions to address stress, low mood, and anxiety, including pharmaceuticals, physical exercise, and animal interaction. While several studies have shown an improvement in anxiety and mood after interaction with horses, few studies have included a physically active control group to consider the effect of exercise on results. In this study conducted in October 2021, participants were recruited from area hospitals and randomly assigned to a control group (30-min guided walk with no horse interaction, n = 17), a low level EAS group (30-min self-guided farm tour, n = 20), or a mid-level EAS group (30 min of grooming a horse, n = 19). Before the intervention, participants completed a demographic survey. Pre and post activity, participants completed the Brief Mood Introspection Scale (BMIS) and State Anxiety Inventory for Adults(TM) that measured currentfeelings of mood and anxiety, respectively. Data were analyzed using the repeated measures one-way ANOVA procedure in SPSS. This study was approved by the MSU Human Research and Protection Program and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Fifty-six health-care workers participated in the study, with 32% having worked in health care for less than 5 years and 33.9% having worked in health care for over 20 years. All participants had a significant improvement in State-Anxiety scores after completing their group activity (P < 0.001), with no differences among groups. Similarly, all groups had an improved BMIS score (P < 0.001). However, there was significantly greater improvement in BMIS scores in the mid-level EAS (P < 0.01) when compared with the control group. While all participants in this study improved both their current feelings of anxiety and mood after completing an activity on the farm, there was a greater improvement in mood in those individuals who spent 30 min grooming a horse when compared with the walk group without horse interaction. The results from this study provide further support for the impact of equine assisted services as a means of improving mood.