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. 2022 Mar 28:10:730644.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.730644. eCollection 2022.

Use of Equine-Assisted Services to Improve Outcomes Among At-Risk and Indigenous Youth: A Scoping Review

Laurie Haig  1 , Kelly Skinner  1
Affiliations

Use of Equine-Assisted Services to Improve Outcomes Among At-Risk and Indigenous Youth: A Scoping Review

Laurie Haig et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Equine-assisted services (EAS) are gaining popularity as ways to promote psychological health and social well-being. EAS may show particular promise as culturally appropriate initiatives for at-risk Indigenous youth, as they are thought to align well with Indigenous ways of knowing which place emphasis on relationships between the land and all living beings. We seek to better understand previous uses of EAS as initiatives for at-risk youth populations, including Indigenous populations, and learn about which outcomes have been addressed in the literature with an EAS initiative by conducting a scoping review. The review focused on initiatives targeting at-risk youth aged 10-18 years of age in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. A total of 27 studies were included in the final analysis from all target countries except New Zealand. The target populations were further divided into four subgroups: at-risk youth, youth with mental health disorders and/or learning disabilities, youth survivors of trauma/abuse, and at-risk Indigenous youth. Overall findings of the review suggest EAS are promising approaches for achieving therapeutic and learning goals with the potential to be successful with both Indigenous youth and at-risk youth more broadly.

Keywords: Indigenous health; at-risk youth; equine-assisted services (EAS); scoping review; youth.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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