How animals could help to enhance the work in education and social services settings?

Abstract:

Epidemiological and intervention studies have found that long-term or transient human animal interaction is associated with the reduction in health risk such as fewer visits to doctors, and enhanced social bonding with others. However, there are also studies showing inconsistent or even contradictory findings partly due to the complexity of the topic and the relatively small number of studies on Animal-assisted interventions (AAI). In this presentation, the two speakers will share about their experiences of implementing AAIs in social and educational settings. The presentation will be concluded by a live demonstration on how accredited trained animal and therapist would do in a social or educational setting. They will also talk about the importance of protection of animal welfare of the trained animals who are part of the AAIs.