The Perspective of Human Services Professionals on the Inclusion of Dogs in Services
Location
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
Description
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of human services professionals who included a dog in their services. SUBJECTS: Licensed human services professionals (n=6) from various fields including social work, criminal justice, and education who have included a dog in their profession in the past or currently. METHODS: Participants were located via online searches and contacted via phone. Semi-structured interviews were utilized to collect the data. ANALYSES: Using the transcriptions of the interviews, a qualitative analysis with open and axial coding was completed. RESULTS: Five themes emerged from the data collection- obstacles or challenges required to include a dog in one’s career, the impact perceived by the professional on the person being served, desired characteristics of the included dog, how the dog was impacted, and specific issues and/or populations the professionals found that dogs were the most helpful with. CONCLUSIONS: Results reveal how the benefits of including a dog can be adopted into various human services fields, how human services professionals including a dog in their occupation can best protect themselves, and what areas would be most helpful for researchers to focus on in the development of this practice.
The Perspective of Human Services Professionals on the Inclusion of Dogs in Services
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of human services professionals who included a dog in their services. SUBJECTS: Licensed human services professionals (n=6) from various fields including social work, criminal justice, and education who have included a dog in their profession in the past or currently. METHODS: Participants were located via online searches and contacted via phone. Semi-structured interviews were utilized to collect the data. ANALYSES: Using the transcriptions of the interviews, a qualitative analysis with open and axial coding was completed. RESULTS: Five themes emerged from the data collection- obstacles or challenges required to include a dog in one’s career, the impact perceived by the professional on the person being served, desired characteristics of the included dog, how the dog was impacted, and specific issues and/or populations the professionals found that dogs were the most helpful with. CONCLUSIONS: Results reveal how the benefits of including a dog can be adopted into various human services fields, how human services professionals including a dog in their occupation can best protect themselves, and what areas would be most helpful for researchers to focus on in the development of this practice.