STUDENT: Kelly Fromert
PROJECT ADVISOR: Michael M. Evans
ABSTRACT
In children under the age of 18 years old, cancer is the leading cause of death. In 2019, more than 13,000 children were diagnosed with cancer in the United States, and that number is gradually rising (Boles & Daniels, 2019). Cancer survival rates are increasing by five years, but on average 2,000 children die yearly as a result of the disease (Mavrides & Pao, 2014). If patients are unable to cope with the diagnosis of cancer and the changes it causes in their lives, it could cause distress, which affects their quality of life along with their psychological well-being.
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to determine how animal-assisted therapy impacts distress levels in pediatric oncology patients.
Methods
A literature review was conducted using the scholarly computerized database Lion SEARCH (Summon) on the Penn State University Library website in order to obtain information that pertains to the research purpose. The key terms “pediatric oncology”, “cancer distress”, and “pet therapy” were utilized. The limit to the publication dates were 2010 to 2020. The disciplines included nursing and psychology. The language selected was English and it was limited to peer-reviewed publications.
Results
After examining research articles from a selected database, four articles best met the criteria needed to be included in this research study. The articles in this study are each different levels of research evidence. Overall, these studies indicated that animal-assisted therapy had a positive effect on pediatric oncology patients because it decreased distress.
Conclusion
Animal-assisted therapy can decrease distress levels in pediatric oncology patients because it improves mood/comfort, socialization, self-esteem, and well-being in children. Also, it decreases fear, anxiety, irritation, pain, loneliness, depression, and stress. Overall, this therapy helps to improve both the psychological and physical outcomes among pediatric cancer patients, which decreases distress.