Upplevelser av att arbeta med djur på daglig verksamhet : En kvalitativ intervjustudie bland personer med funktionsnedsättning

Sammanfattning: The central part in all public health work is health promotion and disease preventing actions among the population. Since all public health work includes the whole population, the work has to embrace disabled people as well. Within the disability policies, participation and equality are important goals, which illustrate the importance of a job. In previous studies the positive effects of animal have been detected among persons with disabilities, by better balance, better mobility, larger social network, new knowledge and most of all happiness. The aim of this study was to investigate how people with disabilities experience their health when they are working with animal husbandry at daily activities. The study was based on a project which started in Örkelljunga in January 2012. The purpose was to help the persons in the project to have a more active day at their daily activity. The survey was conducted with interviews as a qualitative method, in which six participants with disabilities where interviewed. The result showed that the participants felt that their daily activity was more meaningful since they had started working with animals and they showed joy while performing their tasks. Most importantly they felt better, where happier and more alert. The conclusion of the study showed that working with animals on daily activities could have a health promotion effect on the participant’s well-being and development.