Research in Human-Animal Interaction
Today in America most households include a dog, cat, or other pet, and many classrooms are homes to fish, hamsters, gerbils and birds. While there is growing evidence of the health benefits of pet ownership in adulthood, there is comparatively little research on the role these companion animals play in the growth, health and development of children and how the power of this relationship can be employed in therapeutic settings.
In order to promote research in this area, the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and The Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, a division of Mars, Inc., sponsored a workshop in October, 2008, entitled: "Directions in Human-Animal Interaction Research: Child Development, Health and Therapeutic Interventions." More than 40 of the world's leading scientists in the field of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) and related disciplines met to review current research and identify key topics for further investigation. This was the first workshop on HAI research held at NIH in more than 20 years, and the first to focus exclusively on the role of pets in childhood and adolescence.
The researchers reviewed the results of recent HAI studies reporting associations between pet ownership and better mental and physical health, but many of these studies have been small and based on anecdotes or case studies, and most have focused primarily on adults.
Therapeutic interventions involving children and animals have become more common in schools, clinics and programs for troubled youth, but the evidence for their effectiveness is lacking, underscoring the urgent need for rigorous research, scientists say.
"It's generally assumed that pets play an important role in the everyday lives of children," says Peggy McCardle, Ph.D., MPH, chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch at NICHD. "However, relatively few studies have been conducted to examine this relationship and how companion animals may influence children's physical and emotional growth and development."
Challenges include funding for long-term studies, standardization of the investigative tools and measurements, and the need for an approach that involves clinicians and researchers from a variety of disciplines.
"This field has been developing for more than 40 years,'' says Sandra McCune, V.N., Ph.D., an animal behaviorist at the Waltham Centre in Leicestershire, England. "It's an area that is ready for investment,'' McCune says. "Carefully designed scientific studies can bring greater credibility to this field, so that questions about the potential benefits of children's interaction with animals can be answered based on reliable data and scientific findings."
"This workshop has given us the opportunity to review what we know about the interaction of pets and children and their health and development, and provides clear priorities for future research,'' says Cathie Woteki, Ph.D., Mars Global Director of Scientific Affairs.
The NICHD and Mars' Waltham Centre have entered into a formal Public-Private Partnership to encourage research on HAI, especially as it relates to child development, health and the therapeutic use of animals with children and adolescents.
The NIH, the U.S.'s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation.
Mars, the world's largest producer of pet food, has long conducted research on the nutritional needs of animals and more broadly in the area of Human-Animal Interaction.
Additional information about the workshop can be found at: www.anthrozoology.org/HAIworkshop
Additional information about NICHD can be found at:
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
Additional information about the Waltham Centre can be found at:
http://www.waltham.com/
Additional information about Mars Inc. can be found at:
http://www.mars.com/global/home.htm