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The Animals and Society Chair of the URJC and the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, in collaboration with the association of experts PsychoAnimal, have resumed this summer in person 'Huellas de Colores'. This is the first program of therapeutic activities in which Animal Assisted Interventions (IAA) have been incorporated since 2019 for children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care and Resuscitation Unit -UCIP-REA-. This new stage begins after a period of almost two years in which the activity had to be interrupted and carried out virtually due to the restrictions derived from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thus, 'Huellas de Colores' is a research project whose main objective is the humanization of hospital stays for children and adolescents through dog-assisted therapies, studying their impact on the health of patients and their families. The initiative, a pioneer in pediatric intensive care units in Spain, has shown that this support for clinical treatment significantly reduces the levels of pain, fear and anxiety of minors who have undergone surgery or have had complications in the evolution of their disease , due to the emotionally positive experiences generated by these animals.
“In this new stage of Huellas de Colores, the sessions are held with Alma, a three-year-old dog who visits the Unit every fortnight to interact with the admitted children, previously selected by health professionals. For two hours, and supervised at all times by PsicoAnimal technicians and psychologists specialized in animal-assisted interventions, children and their families receive a novel stimulus that allows them to express their emotions and forget the reason for their admission”, explains Nuria Máximo, director of the Animals and Society Chair of the URJC.
In this way, the joint effort of both institutions confirms the scientific evidence that animal-assisted interventions produce clear benefits in the patient's physical, social, motor and cognitive spheres, as they are a special source of motivation.
Experience before the pandemic
From 2019 and until the start of the pandemic, the Huellas de Colores project carried out more than 100 face-to-face visits to children and adolescents admitted to the PICU-REA of this Hospital. Zenit, a dog rescued from a situation of abandonment, recovered and later trained, participated in these sessions, who made an initial reconnaissance visit to the Unit before starting therapy, to check his adaptation to the environment, behavior and involvement in these circumstances. .
During the stage marked by the restrictions intrinsic to the pandemic, the project had to be interrupted and, therefore, in January 2022 it was resumed virtually, but this time aimed at children admitted to hospital wards, since those who remained in intensive care or resuscitation could not perform them in this format for reasons related to their state of health. Now, the project resumes its original face-to-face format in the unit where it began, also strictly complying with the adaptation period of Alma, the dog that has replaced Zenit, retired from this activity due to her advanced age. In addition, the calls to the children of the oncology ward who, due to their condition, cannot receive a face-to-face visit are maintained.
The interest of Hospital 12 de Octubre and the Animals and Society Chair in resuming these sessions in person is justified by the results achieved in the first stage, which showed significant positive differences both before and after the intervention. Thus, in the first phase it was possible to quantify that minors hospitalized in serious situations experienced a decrease in pain of up to three points -according to the usual scales for measuring this variable-, as well as a reduction in the level of anxiety and other symptoms associated with pathology after the visit of the dog. In addition, a satisfaction survey about the project rated it as very positive by families, with a score of 9,71 points out of 10.