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A Scoping Review of Equine-Assisted Therapies on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Autistic Children and Adolescents Exploring the Possibilities2.05 MB
Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
A Scoping Review of Equine-Assisted Therapies on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Autistic Children and Adolescents: Exploring the Possibilities
Issues in Mental Health Nursing, Vol.45(9), pp.948-960
2024
PMID: 39042874
Abstract
Animals are increasingly being utilized to assist with therapies for people with various health conditions. Horses are often used as a mechanism of engagement and development for autistic children and adolescents. Horses offer a unique opportunity for interaction as the child or adolescent can physically ride and interact with the animal, thus creating a therapy that involves contact that is different to other animals. Benefits derived from equine-assisted therapies can be physical, social, behavioral, emotional, sensory, and cognitive. However, a current and specific research gap exists in understanding the potential mental health impacts of horse riding on autistic children and adolescents, as perceived and experienced by their parents, carers, and horse-riding service providers. This scoping review examined research on parents' and service providers' perceptions of the benefits of horse-related therapies, with a particular focus on perceptions of positive mental health impacts. A comprehensive electronic search across PubMed, Scopus and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature identified 16 articles from 15 studies which met the inclusion criteria. Findings included non-mental health-related benefits (as perceived by parents and service providers), mental health-related benefits (as perceived by parents and service providers), benefits for those other than the child/adolescent, and limitations of equine-assisted therapies. With the increased use of equine therapy, and the mounting evidence of its positive impacts on mental health, it is timely to expand research on how to better harness interventions and maximize the mental health benefits for autistic children and adolescents.
Details
- Title
- A Scoping Review of Equine-Assisted Therapies on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Autistic Children and Adolescents: Exploring the Possibilities
- Authors
- Michelle Cleary (Corresponding Author) - Central Queensland UniversitySancia West - Central Queensland UniversityDeependra Kaji Thapa - Central Queensland UniversityCatherine Hungerford - Central Queensland UniversityLoyola McLean - The University of SydneyColleen Johnston-Devin - Central Queensland UniversityRachel Kornhaber - Charles Sturt University
- Publication details
- Issues in Mental Health Nursing, Vol.45(9), pp.948-960
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis Inc.
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1080/01612840.2024.2364236
- ISSN
- 1096-4673; 0161-2840
- PMID
- 39042874
- Copyright note
- © 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Grant note
- Partially funded by the 2023 CQUniversity Internal Research Grants, RSH/6793.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Nursing
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991148237702621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Nursing
- Psychiatry
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