[PDF] The Effect of Animal-Assisted Therapy on Nursing Student Anxiety

i The Effect of Animal-Assisted Therapy on Nursing Student Anxiety By © 2018 Della Anderson PhD, University of Kansas, 2018 MSN, MBA, University of Mary 2011 BSN, University of Kansas, 1991 Submitted to the graduate degree program in Curriculum & Teaching and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _________________________________ Chair: Dr. Steven H. White _________________________________ Dr. Heidi Hallman __________________________________ Dr. Arlene Lundmark Barry __________________________________ Dr. John Poggio __________________________________ Dr. Suzanne Rice Date Defended: April 6, 2018

ii The dissertation committee for Della Anderson certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Effect of Animal-Assisted Therapy on Nursing Student Anxiety __________________________ Chair: Dr. Steven H. White Date Approved: April 6, 2018

iii Abstract College students have high levels of stress, anxiety, and loneliness (Stewart , Dispenza, Parker, Chang, & Cunnien, 2014). College campus counselors strive to combat this stress and meet student needs through creative solutions (Stewart et al., 2014). Nursing student stress has a major impact on academic performance and testing anxiety is one prominent source of that stress (Gibbons, Dempster, & Moutray, 2011). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of dogs in decreasing student anxiety at a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program prior to a medication dosage calculation exam. This study uses a convenience sample randomly assigned to a control and intervention group for assessment of anxiety levels through a pre-pre, pre, post, and post-post test using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The intervention group experienced a therapy dog intervention prior to the medication dosage calculation exam. Qualitative information was collected through open-ended questions to determine the influence of the therapy dogs on the students' anxiety levels; this information was categorized for themes and follow-up interviews completed for the most positive and negative perceptions. Using a repeated measures one-way MANOVA, p < .05, there is a statistically significance difference between groups Wilk's quotesdbs_dbs29.pdfusesText_35