Animal-Assisted Intervention for Children With Cancer and Their Siblings

This study examined an animal-assisted program for children with hematologic or oncologic disease and their siblings. The program included ten weekly sessions involving dogs and donkeys. Children allocated to the program were compared with children on a waiting list. Assessments were conducted before the program, approximately 15 days after the last session, and approximately two months after the last session. The study assessed children's reported life events, emotional indicators in human figure drawings, family relationships, and parents' coping styles. Waiting-list participants were offered the program after their own final follow-up assessment. This study is being registered retrospectively, after study completion and analysis.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 3 to 25 years. * Patient with a hematologic or oncologic disease followed by the pediatric hemato-oncology service, or a sibling of such a patient. Siblings did not need to have the disease. * Clinical suitability for participation in the animal-assisted program, as assessed by the clinical team. * Informed consent from an adult participant or parent/legal guardian, with age-appropriate assent from minors. Exclusion Criteria: * Refusal of the animal-assisted intervention. * Severe immune compromise. * Signs of infectious illness.