Alan M Beck

Purdue University West Lafayette | Purdue · Department of Comparative Pathobiology (CPB)

The field and study of human-animal interaction (HAI) have experienced substantial and ongoing growth in scientific rigor and, public awareness. Yet, considerations for the role of diversity in the field have thus far remained limited, and efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in HAI are critically needed. As one of the first st...

OBJECTIVE To determine the number and species of animals cared for by the PetSafe program at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine (a community service offered to meet the short-term housing needs of pets, especially pets owned by victims of intimate partner violence) from 2004 through 2019 and collect information on duration of stay...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243302.].

Beyond the functional tasks that assistance dogs are trained for, there is growing literature describing their benefits on the psychosocial health and wellbeing of their handlers. However, this research is not only widely disparate but, despite its growth, has not been reviewed since 2012. Our objective was to identify, summarize, and methodologica...

Objective Cognitive stress during shift work contributes to burnout in emergency department (ED) workers. We hypothesize that if physicians and nurses interact with a therapy dog for 5 minutes while on ED shift, both their perceived and their manifested stress levels will decrease. Methods In this single‐center, prospective, randomized controlled...

As the worldwide popularity of animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) increases, the fieldis quickly approaching a paradigm shift, adjusting its image to incorporate more evidence-basedresearch and aligning its purpose for advancing a new future. Contemporary critical issues thatconfront the field today include, but are not limited, to research, anim...

Objective Test if therapy dogs reduce anxiety in emergency department (ED) patients. Methods In this controlled clinical trial (NCT03471429), medically stable, adult patients were approached if the physician believed that the patient had “moderate or greater anxiety.” Patients were allocated on a 1:1 ratio to either 15 min exposure to a certified...

Study information sheet. (PDF)

Data collection form. (PDF)

Performance of each therapy dog and handler. (DOCX)

P values for anxiety scores. (DOCX)

P values for depression scores. (DOCX)

P values for pain scores. (DOCX)

Human-Animal Interaction (HAI), and specifically what is called the human-animal bond, has a long history. The long-standing social implications of our association with animals continue as well as an ever-increasing utilization of animals to help mitigate the impact of disabilities. In the last four decades there has been a growing research enterpr...

Medication non-adherence occurs in more than half of children with chronic conditions. Unfortunately, most strategies for improving adherence have had limited success in the pediatric population highlighting the need for novel interventions that establish healthy self-management habits for children and adolescents. In this paper we discuss innovati...

Evaluation of kennel flooring surfaces is needed to understand their impacts on dog health and well-being. This pilot study aimed to characterize aspects of physical health, kennel cleanliness, and dog body cleanliness on flooring types common in US breeding kennels. Subjects were 118 adult dogs housed on diamond-coated expanded metal (DCEM), polyp...

This review discusses the relationship between animal-assisted interventions (AAI) and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). A systematic search was conducted within CINAHL, Web of Science CAB Abstracts, PubMed, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO for primary research articles. A total of 32 studies wer...

Objective: To characterize patterns of dog and cat ownership and veterinary service use among Latino dog and cat owners with various degrees of English-language proficiency. DESIGN :Cross-sectional telephone survey. Sample: Data from 393 Latino pet owners. Procedures: Telephone surveys were conducted with Latino dog and cat owners from a rando...

Objective: To investigate the preparedness of small animal veterinary personnel to communicate with Spanish-speaking pet owners with limited English-language proficiency (LEP). Design: Cross-sectional telephone survey. Sample: Data from 383 small animal veterinary practices. Procedures: Telephone surveys were conducted with veterinarians and...

Purpose: The use of animals in various healthcare settings dates as far back as the 19th century, and is still a widely practiced intervention even today. The use of animals in the acute rehabilitation setting is a common practice that benefits both the patient's therapy progression and allows the opportunity for financial reimbursement for the fa...

Veterinary schools and colleges generally include communication skills training in their professional curriculum, but few programs address challenges resulting from language gaps between pet owners and practitioners. Due to shifting US demographics, small animal veterinary practices must accommodate an increasing number of limited English proficien...

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high rates of social stress and anxious arousal. Preliminary evidence suggests that companion animals can act as buffers against the adverse effects of social stress in adults. We measured continuous physiological arousal in children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children in a social...

As animal scientists, our lives and our livelihoods are intimately connected to animals. We study the physiology, nutrition, genetics, management, behavior and health and disease of livestock; companion, laboratory, and exotic animals; and wildlife. In this issue of Animal Frontiers, lThe HumannAnimal Bond and Domestication: Through the ageshAnimal...

Our relationship with domestic animals is rooted in evolutionary, psychological, and physiological processes. There are significant health benefits for people associated with their interaction with animals. There are significant health benefits for animals associated with their interaction with people. Animals can be effectively utilized in therape...

The influence of an aquarium on resident behavior and staff job satisfaction in three dementia units was examined. The sample consisted of 71 individuals with dementia and 71 professional staff. A pretest-posttest design was utilized. Baseline resident behavior and staff satisfaction were obtained, and an aquarium was introduced into the setting. P...

Previous research has demonstrated the capacity of animal presence to stimulate social interaction among humans. The purpose of this study was to examine the interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with an adult and their typically-developing peers in the presence of animals (two guinea pigs) compared to toys. Ninety-nine child...

Observation of Human-Animal Interaction for Research (OHAIRE). Behavior coding definitions. (DOCX)

This study assessed whether individuals with dementia who observe aquariums increase the amount of food they consume and maintain body weight. The sample included 70 residents in dementia units within 3 extended care facilities in 2 states. The intervention included the introduction of an aquarium into each common dining area. A total increase of 1...

Animals have generally played a great role in human ecological adjustment. From the very beginning, animal-facilitated therapy (AFT) has paralleled the use of animals as pets, and many of the therapeutic uses are extensions of the health benefits now recognized for those who own or interact with companion animals. These included the early observati...

Before the twentieth century, human medicine treated diseases with a pharmacopoeia pieced together from personal experience, professionally accumulated lore, and custom. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a volunteer activity that has marginal acceptance based on the almost universal fondness for cute animals and a general belief that animals and nat...

Robotic “pets” are being marketed as social companions and are used in the emerging field of robot-assisted activities, including robot-assisted therapy (RAA). However, the limits to and potential of robotic analogues of living animals as social and therapeutic partners remain unclear. Do children and adults view robotic pets as “animal-like,”“mach...

This study investigated children's reasoning about and behavioral interactions with a computationally sophisticated robotic dog (Sony's AIBO) compared to a live dog (an Australian Shepherd). Seventy-two children from three age groups (7–9 years, 10–12 years, and 13–15 years) participated in this study. Results showed that more children conceptualiz...

Human Animal Interaction in Public Health Promotion: Historical and Conceptual Bases Even from prehistoric times, animals have played critical roles in maintaining human survival. When animals were predominantly viewed as sources of warmth, protection, and food, humankind afforded them a level of respect derived from supernatural beliefs, respect...

The human-animal bond (HAB) is viewed as growing in importance for practicing veterinarians, veterinary students, and society in general. The fields and activities concerning the HAB are interdisciplinary and varied. There is widespread belief that HAB programs are important for veterinarians, although many practitioners feel that their instruction...

Given that veterinary care involves both animal patients and human clients, it becomes necessary to find ways to improve not only one's veterinary medical skills, but also one's interpersonal abilities. Literature that discusses the communication and interpersonal aspects of veterinary medicine is neither widely available nor Current; therefore, th...

Since 1995, significant efforts by authorities and researchers have been directed towards addressing the nutritional problems in Danish hospitals and nursing homes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the increased focus on nutritional problems in patients and nursing home residents has resulted in measurable progress. A questionna...

This study investigated the interactions of 72 children (ages 7 to 15) with Sony's robotic dog AIBO in comparison to a live Australian Shepherd dog. Results showed that more children conceptualized the live dog, as compared to AIBO, as having physical essences, mental states, sociality, and moral standing. Based on behavioral analyses, children als...

In spite of a high prevalence of undernutrition among old nursing home residents, studies have generally reported a mean intake of energy sufficient to cover the mean estimated energy requirement. This discrepancy could be due to skipping of meals and hence periods of insufficient energy intake too intermittent to be identified, when mean results a...

Disease-related undernutrition is significant in European hospitals but is seldom treated. In 1999 the council of Europe decided to collect information regarding Nutrition programmes in hospitals and for this purpose a network consisting of national experts from 12 of the Partial Agreement member states was established. The aim was to review the cu...

This descriptive study examines data on the presence of pets in elementary classrooms in a sample of rural, suburban, and urban elementary school classrooms in Indiana, and suggests a rich area for researchers interested in human-animal interactions in school settings. A convenience sample of rural, suburban, and urban teachers was compiled from th...

Human-animal contact can influence psychological and physiological parameters important to health and welfare; nevertheless, there has been relatively little research on the variables that influence or mediate those health consequences. In addition, little attention has been paid on how to create or alter the animal interactions for the betterment...

This study examined the influence of animal-assisted therapy, specifically fish aquariums, on nutritional intake in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Sixty-two individuals with AD who lived in specialized units were studied. Baseline nutritional data were obtained followed by a 2-week treatment period when the aquariums were introduced. Th...

Contrasting Jewish, Christian and polytheistic traditions and contemporary German attitudes regarding the treatment of animals, Boria Sax documents how Nazis manipulated these attitudes to conform to their own symbolic system - Aryan wolves and horses, Jewish pigs and apes. By equating the Nazi party with "nature", the Nazis reduced all ethical iss...

To assess the prevalence of old people at risk of undernutrition according to the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), characterise the at risk group with regard to nutritional state, energy intake, and physical and mental functioning, and to assess the consequences of the MNA score over a 6 month period. A cross-sectional prospective study. The clin...

In 1999 the Council of Europe decided to collect information regarding Nutrition programmes in hospitals and for this purpose a network consisting of national experts from eight of the Partial Agreement member states was established. The aim was to review the current practice in Europe regarding hospital food provision, to highlight deficiencies an...

To determine risk factors for pet evacuation failure during a flood. Cross-sectional survey. 203 pet-owning households in a flooded region. Persons under evacuation notice because of a flood were interviewed by use of a random telephone survey. 102 households evacuated with their pets, whereas 101 households evacuated without their pets. Low pet at...

To test the validity of Resident Assessment Instrument triggers for people in Danish nursing homes and subjects receiving home care by exploring their ability to identify older people with insufficient energy and protein intake. Regression analysis of insufficient energy or protein intake on each of the Resident Assessment Instrument triggers alone...

This study characterized risk factors for household evacuation failure. A random digit dial telephone survey was conducted of 397 households in Yuba County, California, in July 1997, 6 months after residents had been under evacuation notice due to flooding. Case households failed to evacuate, whereas control households evacuated. The cumulative inc...

This study evaluated a ten-week educational home-based program for feeding wild birds, intended to increase elementary school age children's knowledge about birds, especially those wild birds commonly encountered at outdoor home feeders. We measured changes from pre- to post-program in 65 seven- to 12-year old children's knowledge about wild birds,...

The authors describe their continuing inquiry, which aims to document how human/animal interaction shapes - and possibly improves - children's learning in the classroom and elsewhere.

The purpose of the study was to compare the nutritional state in a group of hospitalised patients aged over 65 years and a group of younger patients. Information about body height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), weight index (WI), percent weight loss and energy intake was obtained from 89 elderly and 55 younger patients. We found no significan...

The "Subjective Global Assessment", the "Nutrition Risk Score" and a Danish counterpart are simple screening methods to detect patients at risk of nutrition-related complications. The cut-off points used in the screening are a body mass index (BMI) less than 20 kg/m2 (or 18.5 kg/m2 in the Danish version) and weight loss of more than 5% during the l...

It is well documented that people denied good human contact and interaction do not thrive well. One way people can be protected from the ravages of loneliness is animal companionship. Early laboratory observations of people with animals encouraged a period of research to identify, document, and assess the beneficial health implications of our relat...

A content analysis of children's entries in a favorite pet stories contest in a newspaper revealed themes of play and loss, among others. In the 75 entries analyzed, dogs and cats were the most common animals portrayed, and girls slightly outnumbered boys. The authors discuss how the language used in the advertisement may have shaped the stories su...

To evaluate two short questionnaires for assessing the nutritional situation of elderly people, the DETERMINE Your Nutritional Health Checklist of the Nutrition Screening Initiative (NSI checklist) and the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), by comparing equivalent cumulative scores with data on dietary intake, anthropometrics and blood biochemistri...

The Subjective Global Assessment, the Nutrition Risk Score and a Danish counterpart are simple screening methods to detect patients at risk of nutrition-related complications. The cut-off points used in the screening are a body mass index (BMI) less than 20 kg/m2 (18. 5 kg/m2 in the Danish version) and weight loss more than 5% during the last 1-6 m...

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the predictive capacity of the Mini Nutritional Assessment method (MNA), by means of data from the Danish part of the SENECA survey (1988), and the follow-up study from 1993. Using the MNA, 171 persons between 70-75 years of age were classified according to their nutritional risk as either being "well-nouris...

To describe dynamics of the pet dog and cat populations in a single community in terms of reproductive patterns and turnover. Cross-sectional, random-digit dial telephone survey. Information gathered from 1,272 households in St Joseph County, Ind that owned a dog or cat between Dec 1, 1993 and Nov 30, 1994 was compared with data on 9,571 dogs and c...

To identify canine and household characteristics associated with relinquishment of a pet dog to an animal shelter. Case-control study. Households that relinquished dogs for adoption (case households) and a random sample of current dog-owning households in the same community (control households). Potentially modifiable factors that explained the hig...

To identify feline and household characteristics associated with relinquishment of a pet cat to an animal shelter. Case-control study. Households that relinquished cats for adoption (case households) and a random sample of current cat-owning households in the same community (control households). Potentially modifiable risk factors with the highest...

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of nutritional therapy in a university hospital. Over a four-year period, 542 adult patients from 16 different departments were included in the study due to malnutrition and/or severe disease. Energy requirement including a surplus for weight gain was calculated by the factorial method and fe...

The relationship between people and companion animals, on the one hand, explains the bites and zoonotic diseases that occur among those with companion animals and, on the other hand, appears to enhance the psychological and physiological well-being of many people. Presently, no less than 56% of households in the United States have animals, typical...

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of nutritional therapy in a university hospital. Over a four-year period, 542 adult patients from 16 different departments were included in the study due to malnutrition and/or severe disease. Energy requirement including a surplus for weight gain was calculated by the factorial method and fe...

This study evaluates the current method of rabies reporting in the United States to assess its ability to reflect temporal trends of animal rabies transmission as epidemiologic patterns change. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report only the numbers of animals confirmed rabid in each state. The reported data from three sta...

One intent of the proposed changes to USDA 9, CFR Part 3 was to give kennel dogs an opportunity for exercise and play (socialization). Increasing cage size was proposed as a means to encourage exercise and play, thus enhancing the well-being of kennel dogs. Eleven-month-old, female, purpose-bred Beagles, housed four to a cage, were videotaped for 1...

Describes a program that permitted 20 state-prison inmates to keep pets. The physiological and behavioral effects of this contact and the effect of pet possession on the frequency and severity of disciplinary offenses were examined retrospectively. The presence of a pet did not affect the rise in blood pressure (BP) associated with talking to the e...

Argues that the care of farm and pet animals and gardens allows the elaboration of nurturing beyond the rearing of human children and that such extensions of nurturing behaviors have positive consequences for psychological and emotional health, intimate interactions, and the ability to find solace and contemplation in a busy world. (PsycINFO Databa...

The sheer frequency of contact with animals poses special problems for the allergist; it is estimated that six to seven percent of the U.S. population suffer from allergies and nearly 25% of the allergic population are sensitive to dogs and cats. That would mean that at least 1.5% of the population is sensitive to dogs and cats, let alone other ani...

The number of reported rabid raccoons increased by 617 per cent in Maryland from 1982 to 1984. The per cent of raccoons that tested positive for rabies increased from 7.9 per cent in 1982 to 57 per cent in 1984. During this period of time, more than 74 per cent of human exposures to rabid animals involved raccoons. Reports of animal bites of humans...

This study compared the impact of therapy and activity groups on two matched groups of 8 and 9 psychiatric inpatients. Daily sessions of the groups were held for 11 wk. in identical rooms except for the presence of caged finches in one of the rooms. The patients were evaluated before and after the sessions using standard psychiatric rating scales....

In 1981, more than 3,200 Pennsylvania children, ages 4 to 18 years, were surveyed about their dog bite histories and attitudes toward animals. Dog bites were much more common than previously reported: 45 percent of children had been bitten during their lifetimes, and 15.5 percent had been bitten in 1980, more than 36 times the rate reported to heal...

Animal-facilitated therapy both benefits and suffers from the attention of the public and press. There is a need to balance the enthusiasm for pet-facilitated therapy programs with guidelines for their judicial use and continued research to identify their full potential.

Complex moving visual stimuli are used to induce states of relaxation, hypnosis and revery. To test the efficacy of using aquarium contemplation to induce relaxation, 42 patients were randomly assigned to one of five treatments prior to elective oral surgery: 1) contemplation of an aquarium, 2) contemplation of a poster, 3) poster contemplation wit...

Dog bites are a medical problem for millions of people, children being the most common victims. Human deaths attributable to dog bite injury (not rabies) are relatively infrequent. There have been some epidemiologic reviews, but this study is the first attempt to arrive at an understanding of bites involving predation on human beings by conducting...

This study details the basic ecological behaviors of activity, range and social interaction of 15 individual pets that are permitted varying degrees of freedom to roam without human supervision. The degree of restraint provided by the owner significantly influences the pet's range and interaction with people and other dogs. Pets that are provided w...

The 892 human bites reported to the New York City Department of Health in 1977 were analyzed by time, place, and the victim's characteristics. The bites appeared to have a seasonality, increasing in March and exceeding the mean monthly average through August. The bite rate for the entire city, 10.7 per 100,000 population, was exceeded in 5 of the 1...