Attitudes to and beliefs about animal assisted therapy for children with disabilities

Abstract

Objectives This study assessed the attitudes and beliefs surrounding animal-assisted therapy (AAT) for the rehabilitation of children with disabilities at the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), focusing specifically on cerebral palsy (CP), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and acquired brain injury (ABI). This was an initial step to inform future AAT research and to understand the feasibility of interventions. Design/Setting/Outcome measures An online survey asking participants their opinions about the inclusion of AAT, and potential barriers to its introduction in a tertiary hospital setting was advertised on the RCH Intranet from 3 March 2015 to 3 April 2015. Results A total of 128 participants..