HESTEFORSK The Impact of Horse Assisted Therapy on Addiction Treatment and Outcomes

Dette prosjektet har som målsetning å analysere effekten av heste-assistert terapi (HAT) for unge rusavhengige pasienter henvist til Oslo Universitets Sykehus (OUS). Resultatene fra prosjektet inbefatter en analyse av publiserte artikler, samt kvantitative og kvalitative studier av HAT for unge rusavhengige. Prosjektet inkluderer også video intervensjonsbehandling (VIT) som en ny metode i HAT. En randomisert klinisk studie (RCT) ble startet i 2013, og pågår fortsatt. En kost-nytte analyse vil bli gjort etter at RCT?en er fullført. Resultatene så langt har gitt positive, statistisk signifikante resultater og et rikt materiale av kvalitative data. Resultatene har blitt meget godt mottatt i internasjonale og nasjonale faglige fora og har fått omfattende omtale i media. En artikkel er under vurdering i et internasjonalt peer reviewed tidsskrift og 2 andre er i avsluttende fase før innsending. I tillegg planlegges flere artikler og fullføring av en PhD grad basert på prosjektet i 2015. see http://www.rus.no/id/820.0 & http://www.famo.no/TSB/AnnKern/vimeo.html

The value of including horses in therapeutic work is a scientific issue with social & health implications. Challenges include increasing provision of horse assisted therapy (HAT) of variable quality to vulnerable population groups, little substantive evid ence due to lack of research & design issues, mainstream clinicians'/scientists' scepticism of "alternative therapy" & associated difficulties in attracting top researchers & funding . The study will illustrate horses' significance to society & should in fluence future developments in the Nordic horse & health industries. Material & Infrastructure: Oslo University Hospital's (OUS) Dept of Addiction Treatment (Youth) presents unique research/evaluation potential for HAT. It will treat almost 200 patient pe r year & HAT will be integral to the therapeutic program. Strong emphasis on data & research will provide the professional support & evidence base needed for a sound, large scale study in an emerging area of science & therapy. In 2011-13 approx 200 patie nts will participate in 12 structured HAT sessions. Objective: to assess the impact of HAT on addiction treatment and outcomes for males & females 16-26 years. The study will describe HAT, the impact on treatment, drop out/ relapse rates, & the associat ed costs. It will provide evidence & guidance on the suitability/best practise of HAT for treatment of addiction plus the appropriateness & practicality of assessment methods. Method: 1) a literature review bringing together knowledge of youth addiction & HAT, 2) collection of Quantitative & Qualitative data on the impact of the therapy on patients' treatment & co-occurring illnesses/conditions, 3) a randomised control trial of dropout/relapse rates, 4) a study of the Costs. Necessary approvals & pat ient agreements will be sought. The researcher has 30 years experience in health related administration & 8 years in HAT. Technical support will be provided by OUS, SERAF & an international HAT expert group.