Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In health care, animal-assisted intervention has been used primarily to enhance the positive effects of therapy. For example, it has been used with patients suffering from autism spectrum symptoms, medical difficulties, behavioral problems, and emotional disorders. More recently, this type of intervention has been increasingly used in the workplace to mitigate the effects of stress in employees (including healthcare workers). The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the potential benefits of animal-assisted intervention in healthcare workers. ABSTRACT: Healthcare settings have recently increased the use of companion animals in the workplace to provide emotional support to people with disabilities, but there is limited empirical research on the effects of these programs on healthcare workers. However, it is reasonable to speculate that Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) may have positive effects on health care workers (HCWs) by buffering the negative effects of work-related stress and other occupational psychosocial risk factors. The aim of this review was to examine the beneficial effects of AAIs on the psychological well-being of HCWs. A systematic review was conducted in December 2021 to gain insight into the positive effects of pets on HCWs in the workplace. Searches were conducted in the following databases: Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, including studies between 2001 and December 2021, and 12 articles were included in the review. The results indicate that implementing the AAI program in a busy clinic is feasible and that the program is accepted by medical professionals because of the immense psychological benefits it provides. However, the healthcare professionals disliked the experimental design that forced them to leave their workplaces at a certain time.