Table 2.

Characteristics of the retrieved studies regarding animal interventions for inpatient children. The table reported information about the study design, the participant characteristics (sample size, disease, and setting), the intervention type (including length and animal used), the considered outcomes and the main results.

Authors and Year	Study Design	Sample	Disease/setting	Intervention Type	Length	Animals	Outcome	Findings
Barker, 2015	RCT	40 hospitalized children	Children admitted to Hospital of Richmond except Pediatric Intensive Care Units	Intervention group: AAI Active control group: jigsaw puzzle	10 min sessions	Dogs	Pain and Anxiety ratings Attachments Questionnaire for Children Family life-space Diagrams	The AAI-group experienced lower post-intervention anxiety scores (p < 0.05). No significant within- or between-group pre-post changes in either pain or anxiety were detected.
Tsai, 2010	Quasi-experimental design	15 hospitalized children	Acute or chronic conditions	AAT (taking place in patient room) Control group: puzzle (each child did both the interventions)	6–10 min sessions	Dogs	Blood pressure and heart rate Child Medical Fear Scale State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-C)	Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) decreased from before, during and after AAT (p = 0.008). Children’s anxiety and medical fear did not differ after the AAT visit compared with the comparison intervention.
Braun 2009	Quasi-experimental intervention study	57 children	Acute care settings	Intervention group: AAT Control group: children sat quietly for 15 min	15–20 min sessions	Dogs	Blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate Pain level (FACE pain scale)	The group experiencing AAT had a significantly lower post-test pain score compared to the control group (p = 0.006). Even parents perception of pain reduction was higher for the intervention group (p = 0.008). AAT group presented higher respiratory rate (p = 0.011), no differences were found in blood pressure and pulse
Caprilli 2006	RCT	138 children	Different hospital wards	AAA	Once a week for 2-h sessions	Dogs	Children participation Infection rate in the hospital Children pleasure Parents and staff level of satisfaction	No increase in infection or in contagious disease transmitted by dogs were found. The children pleasure evaluation showed significant improvement. Parents and staff satisfaction rate was high.
Gagnon 2004	Descriptive study	16 parents and 12 nurses	Pediatric oncology wards	Dog-AAT	Each session lasted a whole day	Dogs	Satisfaction with the program and of quality of care	Beneficial role of animal therapy was underlined for physical, social, emotional, coping and self-esteem dimension
Bouchard 2004	Pilot project	27 children	Pediatric oncology wards	AAT with a dog at bed-side	/	Dogs	Client satisfaction Impact on nursing work Appropriateness of prevention measures	Parents outlined positive aspects of the experience (as increasing children confidence, mood improvement). According to nurses, the program was well structured. They used the children’s relationship with dogs as a therapeutic tool during the intervention process.
Kaminski 2002	Clinical trial on a convenience sample	70 hospitalized children	General inpatients	Intervention group: dog-facilitated therapy Control group: Child Life group	One session per week	Dogs	Self-reported mood, and parents and caregiver reports Clinical assessment Physiological indicators: heart rate, blood pressure, salivary cortisol	Parents and caregivers rated their children as happier after intervention in both groups (p < 0.001). Heart rate was significantly higher in the pet therapy group (99.27 ± 16.38) than in control group (88.44 ± 12.68).
Moody et al. 2002	Two cross-sectional surveys	Staff Questionnaire: 115 pre-program and 45 after	Pediatric Medical wards	Pet-visitation program	/	Dogs	Hospital staff perception (questionnaire to administrators, doctors, nursing staff and therapists; 6 weeks before and 12 weeks after the introduction of the program)	Prior to the introduction of the dog visitation, there were high staff expectations regarding the program. Healthcare workers outlined the relaxation effect, the mood improvement. Staff member generally accepted dogs.