The Effect of Animal-Assisted Therapy on Nursing Student Anxiety
Issue Date
2018-05-31Author
Anderson, Della
Publisher
University of Kansas
Format
88 pages
Type
Dissertation
Degree Level
Ph.D.
Discipline
Curriculum and Teaching
Rights
Copyright held by the author.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
College students have high levels of stress, anxiety, and loneliness (Stewart , Dispenza, Parker, Chang, & Cunnien, 2014). College campus counselors strive to combat this stress and meet student needs through creative solutions (Stewart et al., 2014). Nursing student stress has a major impact on academic performance and testing anxiety is one prominent source of that stress (Gibbons, Dempster, & Moutray, 2011). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of dogs in decreasing student anxiety at a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program prior to a medication dosage calculation exam. This study uses a convenience sample randomly assigned to a control and intervention group for assessment of anxiety levels through a pre-pre, pre, post, and post-post test using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The intervention group experienced a therapy dog intervention prior to the medication dosage calculation exam. Qualitative information was collected through open-ended questions to determine the influence of the therapy dogs on the students’ anxiety levels; this information was categorized for themes and follow-up interviews completed for the most positive and negative perceptions. Using a repeated measures one-way MANOVA, p < .05, there is a statistically significance difference between groups Wilk’s ∧ = .761, F(8, 79) = 3.103, p < .01. Qualitatively, the results were positive showing the intervention calmed and relaxed students. This adds empirical knowledge to the field of animal-assisted therapy and nursing student anxiety-coping methods.
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