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Home / Equine Research Bank / Int J Environ Res Public Health / Effects of Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies for Indi...
International journal of environmental research and public health2023; 20(3); 2630; doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032630

Effects of Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become a critical public health issue that affects more than 78 million people. In many recent studies, the authors have demonstrated that equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAATs) can substantially improve the social and behavioral skills of children with ASD. However, the qualities of the studies differ, and some authors reached opposite conclusions. In this review, we systematically and objectively examined the effectiveness of EAATs for people with ASD, combining both qualitative and quantitative methods. We searched five databases (PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, ProQuest, and MEDLINE) and added relevant references, and we identified 25 articles for data extraction and analysis. According to our results, EAAT programs can substantially improve the social and behavioral functioning and language abilities of children with ASD. However, among the subdomains, the results were inconsistent. According to the meta-analyses, there were considerable improvements in the social cognition, communication, irritability, and hyperactivity domains, but not in the domains of social awareness, mannerisms, motivation, lethargy, stereotypy, or inappropriate speech. Moreover, there was a lack of sufficient comparative data to conclude that EAAT programs lead to substantial improvements in motor and sensory functioning. In addition, among the included studies, we noted the indicator of whether EAAT programs decreased parental stress and improved family functioning, and although there were four articles in which the researchers considered this aspect, we were unable to draw any conclusions because of the insufficient data and conflicting descriptive evidence. However, we need to consider the improvement in parental mental health as a factor in the effectiveness of this complementary intervention. We hope that in future studies, researchers will focus on family functioning and conduct more randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with blinded assessments using different scales and measures.
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Publication Date: 2023-02-01 PubMed ID: 36767996PubMed Central: PMC9915993DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20032630Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Meta-Analysis
  • Systematic Review
  • Journal Article
  • Review

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research article explores the impact of equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAATs) on people affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It suggests that while EAATs show considerable improvement within certain areas for ASD individuals, results are inconsistent across different domains.

Methodology

  • The research is a systematic review and meta-analysis that employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the effectiveness of EAATs for individuals with ASD.
  • The authors searched five databases, namely PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, ProQuest, and MEDLINE, to gather relevant data for this study. A total of 25 articles were identified and selected for data extraction and analysis.

Results and Discussion

  • The study demonstrates that EAATs can largely enhance the social, behavioral functioning, and language abilities of children with ASD.
  • However, the findings were not consistent for all subdomains. The meta-analyses indicated significant improvements in social cognition, communication, irritability, and hyperactivity domains.
  • For other domains such as social awareness, mannerisms, motivation, lethargy, stereotypy, or inappropriate speech, there were no substantial improvements noted with EAATs.
  • The research also lacked enough comparative data to state definitively that EAATs lead to significant improvements in motor and sensory functioning.

Consideration of Parental Stress and Family Functioning

  • The research also observes whether EAATs decrease parental stress and improve family functioning, which is considered an indicator of the effectiveness of this intervention.
  • Although there were four articles where the researchers considered this angle, it was impossible to arrive at any conclusion due to insufficient data and discrepancies in the qualitative evidence.
  • The researchers urge the need for considering improvement in parental mental health as a factor influencing the efficacy of this therapeutic intervention.

Recommendations for Future Research

  • The authors propose more research should be conducted focusing on family functioning and the role of parental stress in the effectiveness of EAATs.
  • The study also urges the need for more randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with blinded assessments using a variety of scales and measures.

Cite This Article

APA
Xiao N, Shinwari K, Kiselev S, Huang X, Li B, Qi J. (2023). Effects of Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 20(3), 2630. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032630

Publication

International journal of environmental research and public health
ISSN: 1660-4601
NlmUniqueID: 101238455
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 20
Issue: 3
PII: 2630

Researcher Affiliations

Xiao, Ningkun
  • Department of Psychology, Institution of Humanities, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg 620075, Russia.
Shinwari, Khyber
  • Department of Immunochemistry, Institution of Chemical Engineering, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg 620075, Russia.
Kiselev, Sergey
  • Department of Psychology, Institution of Humanities, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg 620075, Russia.
Huang, Xinlin
  • Department of Psychology, Institution of Humanities, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg 620075, Russia.
Li, Baoheng
  • Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control System, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg 620002, Russia.
Qi, Jingjing
  • Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control System, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg 620002, Russia.

MeSH Terms

  • Humans
  • Animals
  • Horses
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder / therapy
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder / psychology
  • Irritable Mood
  • Communication
  • Speech
  • Equine-Assisted Therapy

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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