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Home / Equine Research Bank / Int J Nurs Sci / Effects of equine-assisted interventions on older adults&#82...
International journal of nursing sciences2022; 9(4); 542-552; doi: 10.1016/j.ijnss.2022.09.008

Effects of equine-assisted interventions on older adults’ health: A systematic review.

Abstract: Equine-assisted interventions (EAI) can improve a variety of health problems in older adults and thus promote their well-being. This systematic review aimed to synthesize studies on EAI to understand better their effects on the health of older adults. Unassigned: A systematic search guided by the PRISMA 2020 approach was performed on specific databases: Medline (PubMed), EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library. Peer-reviewed articles published in the English language from inception to June 2022 were retrieved. Methodological quality was established using the modified version of the Downs and Black checklist. Unassigned: A total of 244 studies were retrieved, and 13 eligible studies were finally included. Three health domains were investigated: physical (balance, gait, and muscular strength), psychological (quality of life and cognitive assessment), and physiological (hormonal measures, cerebral and muscular activity). Among the eight studies investigating the physical dimension, four studies highlighted a positive effect of EAI on balance, four for gait, and three for strength. Regarding the three studies investigating the psychological dimension, two studies showed a positive effect of EAI on quality of life. Lastly, the four studies investigating the physiological dimensions all demonstrated a positive effect of EAI on hormonal measures and cerebral and muscular activity. Unassigned: Nevertheless, this systematic review provides promising findings regarding the positive effects of EAI on physical, psychological, and physiological health in older adults. Research on EAI should therefore be pursued rigorously to promote this non-pharmacological intervention in an older adult population.
© 2022 The Authors.
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Publication Date: 2022-09-20 PubMed ID: 36285074PubMed Central: PMC9587396DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnss.2022.09.008Google Scholar: Lookup
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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.

The research article is about a systematic review of studies that examined the effects of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) on the physical, psychological, and physiological health of older adults.

Research Aims and Methodology

  • The purpose of this research was to gather and analyze existing studies on the impact of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) on older adults’ health. These therapeutic methods involve horses and seek to improve various health outcomes and promote overall well-being in elderly people.
  • The researchers conducted their systematic review using the PRISMA 2020 approach, extensively searching four databases (Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library).
  • The scope of their search was broad, considering all peer-reviewed articles, written in English, that had been published from the databases’ inception up to June 2022.
  • The methodological quality of the retrieved studies was evaluated using a modified version of the Downs and Black checklist, a tool used to assess the strength and validity of studies in health care.

Study Findings

  • The search yielded a total of 244 studies, but after scrutinizing these for relevance and quality, just 13 were selected for inclusion in the systematic review.
  • These studies explored the effects of EAI across three health domains: physical (including balance, gait, and muscular strength); psychological (quality of life and cognitive assessment); and physiological (hormonal measures, cerebral and muscular activity).
  • Among the studies that focused on physical health, beneficial effects of EAI were reported for balance, gait, and strength in four, four, and three studies respectively.
  • In the psychological domain, two out of three studies found a positive impact of EAI on participants’ quality of life.
  • The physiological effects of EAI were unanimously positive across the four studies that had investigated this, with improvements noted in hormonal balance and brain and muscle activity.

Conclusions and Recommendations

  • Although the amount of research included in this review was relatively small, the findings provide encouraging evidence of EAI’s positive effects on physical, psychological, and physiological health in older adults.
  • The authors therefore recommend continuing rigorous research on EAIs to substantiate these promising results and highlight the potential of EAIs as a non-pharmacological health intervention for the elderly population.

Cite This Article

APA
Badin L, Alibran É, Pothier K, Bailly N. (2022). Effects of equine-assisted interventions on older adults’ health: A systematic review. Int J Nurs Sci, 9(4), 542-552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2022.09.008

Publication

International journal of nursing sciences
ISSN: 2352-0132
NlmUniqueID: 101660887
Country: China
Language: English
Volume: 9
Issue: 4
Pages: 542-552

Researcher Affiliations

Badin, Léa
  • University of Tours, EA 2114 PAVEA Laboratory, Tours, France.
Alibran, Émilie
  • University of Tours, EA 2114 PAVEA Laboratory, Tours, France.
Pothier, Kristell
  • University of Tours, EA 2114 PAVEA Laboratory, Tours, France.
Bailly, Nathalie
  • University of Tours, EA 2114 PAVEA Laboratory, Tours, France.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Kocyigit BF, Adilbekov E, Zharmenov S, Akyol A, Yessirkepov M. Evaluating the efficacy of hippotherapy: a promising ıntervention in rheumatology, pain medicine, and geriatrics.. Rheumatol Int 2023 Sep 12;.
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  2. Liguori G, Costagliola A, Lombardi R, Paciello O, Giordano A. Human-Animal Interaction in Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI)s: Zoonosis Risks, Benefits, and Future Directions-A One Health Approach.. Animals (Basel) 2023 May 9;13(10).
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