SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Animal-Assisted Interventions for the Improvement of Mental Health Outcomes in Higher Education Students: A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mental health in university students: an umbrella review grading the evidence for psychosocial interventions.BMJ mental health · 2026Pooled it
- Byron's bear and dwarf rabbits in the classroom: a review of animals against academic stress.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Pooled it
- Animal-Assisted Interventions for the Improvement of Mental Health Outcomes in Higher Education Students: A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Beyond the Leash: Exploring the Public Health Dimension of Facility Dog Handler Experiences in Military Graduate Education.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Brief therapy dog interactions may increase self-efficacy and lower perceived stress and cortisol in high school students: a preliminary study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Mental health-promoting intervention models in university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Australian University Students' Experience of Animal-Assisted Education: An Exploratory Study.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Co-Producing Paws on Campus: A Psychoeducational Dog-Facilitated Programme for University Students Experiencing Mental Health Difficulties.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- The future of flourishing in veterinary medicine: a systems-informed positive psychology approach in veterinary education.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Review
- Predictors of Suicide Risk and Mental Health Outcomes among Hong Kong Veterinarians: A Cross-Sectional Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- The effect of animal-assisted intervention on undergraduate students' perception of momentary stress.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Animal-Assisted Interventions Improve Mental, But Not Cognitive or Physiological Health Outcomes of Higher Education Students: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs), particularly Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Animal-Assisted Activity (AAA), in improving mental health outcomes for students in higher education. The number of students in higher education reporting mental health problems and seeking support from universities' student support services has risen over recent years. Therefore, providing engaging interventions, such as AAIs, that are accessible to large groups of students are attractive.
methodsMEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched from relative inception to end of April 2020. Additionally, a grey literature search was undertaken. Independent screening, data extraction and risk of bias assessment were completed, with varying percentages, by two reviewers.
resultsAfter de-duplication, 6248 articles were identified of which 11 studies were included in the narrative synthesis. The evidence from randomised controlled trials suggests that AAIs could provide short-term beneficial results for anxiety in students attending higher education but with limited evidence for stress, and inconclusive evidence for depression, well-being and mood. For the non-statistically significant results, the studies either did not include a power calculation or were under-powered.
conclusionsPotential emerging evidence for the short-term benefits of AAI for anxiety, and possibly stress, for students in higher education was found.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.