Effectiveness of Animal-Assisted Therapy in the Pediatric Population: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Studies

Conclusion: Animal-assisted therapy may be useful as a complementary intervention in the management of children with CP and pain. Although results are in general positive for the management of children with Down syndrome and autism, the diversity of scales used to measure outcomes makes it difficult to establish true effectiveness. The application of simple corrective measures in the randomization process would greatly improve the quality of evidence. It is necessary to reach a consensus between AAT researchers regarding appropriate instruments to provide higher-quality evidence in further studies.
Source: Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics - Category: Child Development Tags: Review Article Source Type: research