Horse-assisted Interventions in an Oncological Centre

Animal therapeutic role has been recognized since the origin of Medicine: Hippocrates suggested horse riding against insomnia and for body and spirit recovery. In the last ten years pet therapy has been considerably extended and in 2015 the Italian Ministry of Health developed national guidelines to standardize operational protocols, in order to achieve a proper and uniform application of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI), to guarantee patient and animal safety. At present, several studies have demonstrated that Horse-Assisted Intervention (HAI), compared to other types of pet therapy, has physical activity as added value, because it contributes to endorphins, serotonin and noradrenaline production, which are beneficial to a person's state of mind. Furthermore, due to horse's corporeality, rhythms and needs, between patient and horse a complex bivalent relationship is established, thus developing self-confidence and self-esteem. In spite of the number of AAIs existing on a national basis, the majority of them lacks a solid methodological structure and they are based on the descriptive analysis of results, rather than on hypothesis, objectives and on quantitative evaluations. The ISACCO study is a non-pharmacological, controlled, randomized interventional study with two arms: standard onco-hematology therapy compared with standard therapy associated with the Horse-Assisted Intervention (HAI). Aim of this project is to evaluate the improvement of the quality of life and the effectiveness of Horse-Assisted Intervention (HAI) on physiological characteristics, on symptoms control and on psychoemotional aspects, producing a recovery of self-esteem and of normal social function in people with cancer. This project has as its primary objective the improvement of the quality of life of adolescent-young adult patients (16-39 years) affected by onco-hematological neoplasia and of women with breast cancer (aged 18-65). A secondary objective is to evaluate the intervention's effectiveness regarding physiological parameters (BMI, blood chemistry tests), symptom control, and psycho-emotional well-being (improvement in anxiety and depressive states), facilitated by the anticipated recovery of self-esteem and normal social functioning among individuals affected by cancer