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Hill J, Gui J, Moodley K, Driscoll C. Understanding the experience of assistance dog providers supporting people with disability: an exploratory study. Disabil Rehabil 2024:1-8. [PMID: 38821114 DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2024.2354512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Assistance dogs can provide many health and wellbeing benefits to people with disability, however challenges remain. Assistance dog providers provide crucial support to assistance dog handlers, however limited literature exists exploring their experience working with people with disability. This study aimed to understand the experiences of assistance dog providers working in Australia. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twelve assistance dog providers participated in semi-structured interviews. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. RESULTS Five themes emerged describing the participant experience. Theme one discussed instances of discrimination experienced by assistance dog handlers, stemming from the lack of public awareness. Theme two captured the inconsistencies regarding the training of assistance dog providers with a specific focus on the gaps in the disability specific knowledge. Theme three emphasised the lack of clarity regarding legislation outlining the training requirements of assistance dog providers and the public access rights of the handlers. Theme four emphasised funding barriers, and theme five discussed barriers to interprofessional collaboration between assistance dog providers and allied health professionals. CONCLUSION These findings contribute to understanding the current barriers experienced by assistance dog providers and assistance dog handlers, as well as the legislative changes required to better support people with disability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Hill
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Occupational Therapy, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jessie Gui
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Occupational Therapy, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Kiara Moodley
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Occupational Therapy, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Carlie Driscoll
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Occupational Therapy, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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Futeran N, Mackenzie L, Wilkes-Gillan S, Dickson C. Understanding the participation outcomes for persons with disability when partnered with assistance dogs: A scoping review. Aust Occup Ther J 2022; 69:475-492. [PMID: 35470459 PMCID: PMC9540062 DOI: 10.1111/1440-1630.12801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Assistance dogs are trained to support persons living with disability and mitigate limitations that hinder their participation in everyday activities. Despite participation being a frequent challenge for people with disabilities, evidence linking assistance dog provision to improved participation outcomes is underdeveloped. This scoping review aimed to improve understanding by mapping the participation outcomes claimed in research on assistance dogs using the International Classification of Functioning (ICF), Disability and Health framework. Methods Using the Arksey and O′Malley's six‐step framework, this scoping review searched six databases. Data were collected, mapped and summarised in accordance with the domains outlined in the ICF. Results In total, 38 studies across 41 papers met the inclusion criteria. Included studies investigated assistance dogs who were partnered with people living with physical disabilities, mental illness, autism and chronic conditions that require alerting (e.g., epilepsy and diabetes). Mapping of participation outcomes suggested that assistance dogs can have a positive impact on participation in many areas of daily life. Conclusion Findings can assist practitioners, funders and policymakers to recognise the value of assistance dogs as a support for people with disability. However, further research is needed to address limitations regarding study designs, for example, the outcome measures used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Futeran
- Discipline of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Lynette Mackenzie
- Discipline of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Sarah Wilkes-Gillan
- Discipline of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Claire Dickson
- Occupational Therapy, Assistance Dogs Australia, Engadine, New South Wales, Australia
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Lu ZA, Shi L, Que JY, Zheng YB, Wang QW, Liu WJ, Huang YT, Liu XX, Yuan K, Yan W, Shi J, Bao YP, Lu L. Accessibility to Digital Mental Health Services among the General Public throughout COVID-19: Trajectories, Influencing Factors and Association with Long-Term Mental Health Symptoms. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19063593. [PMID: 35329280 PMCID: PMC8955845 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19063593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Digital mental health services (DMHSs) have great potential for mitigating the mental health burden related to COVID-19, but public accessibility (ease of acquiring services when needed) to DMHSs during the pandemic is largely unknown. Accessibility to DMHSs was tracked longitudinally among a nationwide sample of 18,804 adults in China from before to one year after COVID-19 outbreak. Unconditional and conditional latent growth curve models and latent growth mixture models were fitted to explore the overall growth trend, influencing factors, and latent trajectory classes of accessibility to DMHSs throughout COVID-19. Generalized estimating equation models and generalized linear mixed models were employed to explore the association between accessibility to DMHSs and long-term mental health symptoms. We found that people generally reported increased difficulty in accessing DMHSs from before to one year after COVID-19 outbreak. Males, youngsters, individuals with low socioeconomic status, and individuals greatly affected by COVID-19 reported greater difficulty in accessing DMHSs. Four DMHS accessibility trajectory classes were identified: “lowest–great increase” (6.3%), “moderate low–slight increase” (44.4%), “moderate high–slight decrease” (18.1%) and “highest–great decrease” (31.2%). Trajectory classes reporting greater difficulty in accessing DMHSs were at higher risk for long-term mental symptoms. In conclusion, an overall increase in difficulty in accessing DMHSs is observed throughout COVID-19, and heterogeneity exists in DMHS accessibility trajectories. Our results suggest that easy access to DMHSs should be consistently facilitated. Moreover, access gaps should be reduced across demographic groups, and target populations for service allocation should alter as the pandemic evolves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng-An Lu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
| | - Le Shi
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
| | - Jian-Yu Que
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
| | - Yong-Bo Zheng
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Qian-Wen Wang
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
| | - Wei-Jian Liu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
| | - Yue-Tong Huang
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
| | - Xiao-Xing Liu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
| | - Kai Yuan
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
| | - Wei Yan
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
| | - Jie Shi
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China;
| | - Yan-Ping Bao
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China;
- Correspondence: (Y.-P.B.); (L.L.)
| | - Lin Lu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; (Z.-A.L.); (L.S.); (J.-Y.Q.); (Y.-B.Z.); (Q.-W.W.); (W.-J.L.); (Y.-T.H.); (X.-X.L.); (K.Y.); (W.Y.)
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China;
- Correspondence: (Y.-P.B.); (L.L.)
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Iong KK, Bould E, Lalor A, Callaway L. Australian occupational therapists' knowledge of the purpose, scope, and funding of assistance dogs. Aust Occup Ther J 2021; 69:64-76. [PMID: 34545587 DOI: 10.1111/1440-1630.12770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Assistance dogs, considered a form of assistive technology within Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), can support scheme participants to achieve greater independence. To receive funding, an allied health assessment report (most often from occupational therapists) is required to justify the animal as a reasonable and necessary support. OBJECTIVES Examine Australian occupational therapists' knowledge and perceptions of assistance dogs; NDIS funding of animal supports; and resources considered useful to guide occupational therapy assessment and report writing. METHOD An online anonymous survey was developed and distributed via social media channels, an email listserv, and professional association newsletters to Australian occupational therapists. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Inductive content analysis of open-ended question responses provided additional insights regarding occupational therapists' knowledge, experiences, and information needs in relation to animal supports. RESULTS One hundred forty-five completed surveys were received. A majority of participants had limited knowledge regarding the purpose, scope, and funding of assistance dogs. Only 14 participants had made a referral for an assistance dog for an NDIS participant. For the 36 participants who self-identified as having good or excellent knowledge of one or more types of assistance dogs, benefits included increasing users' independence, confidence, and quality of life. Although participants agreed they had suitable skills to prescribe assistance dogs, greater clarification regarding their role in the NDIS assessment, advisory, and application process was seen as necessary. CONCLUSION This research highlighted the need for increased information for occupational therapists regarding the various types of assistance dogs and NDIS funding rules. The provision of NDIS reporting templates, practice guidance, and professional development resources-as well as occupational therapy curriculum for near-graduate therapists-could enhance knowledge, clinical reasoning, and practice when considering the most appropriate support and whether an assistance dog is both reasonable and necessary based on the person's goals and needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Kei Iong
- Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Em Bould
- Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Aislinn Lalor
- Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Libby Callaway
- Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Tsang MCC, Bould E, Lalor A, Callaway L. 'Community members aren't aware that assistance animals come in all shapes and sizes, and help people with all kinds of disabilities' - Experiences of using assistance animals within community living in Australia. Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol 2021:1-11. [PMID: 34176422 DOI: 10.1080/17483107.2021.1938709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate: (1) the characteristics of people using, or had previously used, assistance animals within community living in Australia; (2) positive and/or negative experiences of these users; and (3) educational resources that may aid public awareness. MATERIALS AND METHODS An online survey was distributed through Australian assistance animal organisations and social media channels. Past/current assistance animal users (n = 112) responded to questions on demographic and types of animal supports used, experience of assistance animal use, community attitudes experienced, and perspectives about the need for public education. Data were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Content analysis provided additional insights of the positive and/or negative experiences assistance animal users had faced. RESULTS Nearly all participants used an assistance dog (n = 111), and 37 (33%) used the animal for more than one type of support. Seventy percent reported experiencing both positive and negative community attitudes/reactions. Length of time of having an assistance animal was associated with significantly higher prevalence of positive attitudes/reactions, whilst users who received medical support from the animal tended to experience more negative community attitudes/reactions than other users. The majority (90%) agreed that more public education is needed regarding assistance animal public access rights. CONCLUSIONS This study is the first in Australia to undertake a large-scale survey of assistance animal users with a range of disability types. It highlights the benefits and challenges of assistance animals, which could be useful to consider when determining the most appropriate support for an individual.Implications for RehabilitationThere are a range of possible benefits, but also challenges, in the use of assistance animals that should be considered when a person with disability or health conditions, or people advising them, are determining if an animal is the most appropriate support.Assistance animals can provide multiple types of support to one user, so could offer a potential cost-benefit beyond traditional assistive devices or other types of support.To ensure better inclusion of assistance animal users, public education is needed to promote community awareness of the types of animals that meet the definition of an 'assistance animal', and thus have public access rights.In Australia, a nationally consistent government approach to the regulation, accreditation and funding of assistance animals should be established with the aim to address the current fragmented or unfair investment approach and/or discrimination experienced by some individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Man Chi Coco Tsang
- Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Frankston, Australia
| | - Em Bould
- Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Frankston, Australia
| | - Aislinn Lalor
- Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Frankston, Australia.,Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Frankston, Australia
| | - Libby Callaway
- Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Frankston, Australia.,Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Frankston, Australia
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