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The prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in cognitively impaired nursing home residents is known to be very high, with depression and agitation being the most common symptoms. The possible effects of a 12-week intervention with animal-assisted activities (AAA) in nursing homes were studied. The primary outcomes related to depression, agitation and quality of life (QoL).A prospective, cluster randomized multicentre trial with a follow-up measurement 3 months after end of intervention was used. Inclusion criteria were men and women aged 65 years or older, with a diagnosis of dementia or having a cognitive deficit. Ten nursing homes were randomized to either AAA with a dog or a control group with treatment as usual. In total, 58 participants were recruited: 28 in the intervention group and 30 in the control group. The intervention consisted of a 30-min session with AAA twice weekly for 12 weeks in groups of three to six participants, led by a qualified dog handler. Norwegian versions of the Cornell Scale for Depression, the Brief Agitation Rating Scale and the Quality of Life in Late-stage Dementia scale were used.A significant effect on depression and QoL was found for participants with severe dementia at follow-up. For QoL, a significant effect of AAA was also found immediately after the intervention. No effects on agitation were found.Animal-assisted activities may have a positive effect on symptoms of depression and QoL in older people with dementia, especially those in a late stage. Copyright © 2016 John WileySons, Ltd.

Bakgrunn: Universell utforming (UU) av skolebygg er viktig for barn og unges deltakelse i skolehverdagen. Likevel er mange skolebygg ikke godt nok universelt utformet. Bakgrunnen for denne studien var manglende kunnskap om ansattes erfaringer knyttet UU-kartlegginger. Manglende universell utforming av skolebygg kan medføre at noen elever mister muligheten til å delta på lik linje med andre barn. Dette kan være diskriminerende ettersom alle barn har rett å delta på sin nærskole. Hensikt: Hensikten med studien er å undersøke hvordan ergoterapeuter og ansatte med teknisk bakgrunn erfarer at slike kartlegginger bidrar til universelt utformede skolebygg. Videre er det ønskelig å dokumentere erfaringer med hvordan oppfølging av UU-kartleggingene bidrar til aktivitet og deltakelse for barn og unge, samt hvilke kontekstuelle faktorer som har innvirkning for god praksis i dette arbeidet. Metode: Studien er en kvalitativ tilnærming ved bruk av semistrukturerte forskningsintervjuer. Intervjuene ble gjennomføres digitalt. Siden studien er inspirert av Grounded Theory (GT) og har en induktiv tilnærming er både valg av teori, problemstilling og analyse av datamaterialet utført med utgangspunkt i teorien. I analysen er det brukt elementer fra GT som «linje for linje» koding, åpen og kategorisk koding. Kategoriene er strukturert ut fra datamaterialet og presenteres i form av en skisse. Skissen er kun basert på fem informanters erfaringer og perspektiver og kan dermed ikke regnes som en fullstendig Grounded Theory. Funn: Denne studien viser at det er variasjon i hvordan de ansatte arbeider med UU-kartlegginger i kommunene. Det kommer frem at informantene ser på UU-kartleggingene som et nyttig virkemiddel for å fremme universell utformede skolebygg. Informantene gir også utrykk for at kartleggingsarbeidet kan være av stor betydning for barns muligheter til aktivitet og deltakelse. Studien viser flere kontekstuelle faktorer som er av betydning for god praksis i arbeidet. Dette kan være økonomiske ressurser, kompetanse, politisk innflytelse og tverrfaglig/tverrsektorielt arbeid. Oppsummering: Funn fra studien kan bidra til bedre forståelse av hvordan ansatte arbeider med UU-kartlegginger på kommunalt nivå. Studien kan være relevant for ergoterapeuter og tekniske ansatte på feltet og for kommuner som ønsker å sette i gang kartleggingsarbeidet. Det er behov for mer forskning på dette feltet. Background: Universally designed (UD) school buildings are important for children and adolescents regardless of their functional ability to participate in everyday school life. Nevertheless, many school buildings are not universally designed. The background for this study is a lack of knowledge about employees' experiences related to UD-mappings of school buildings. A lack of universal design of school buildings may result in pupils losing the opportunity to participate in the same way as other children. This can be discriminatory since all children have the right to attend their local school. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate how occupational therapists and employees with technical backgrounds experience that UD-mappings contribute to universally designed school buildings. Experience with follow-up of the UD-mappings contributes to activity and participation, as well as contextual factors influence good practice in the work on the UD-mappings. Method: A qualitative approach was chosen using semi-structured research interviews. The interviews were conducted digitally. Since the study was inspired by Grounded Theory (GT) and has an inductive approach, both the choice of theory, research question and analysis of the data material were carried out on the basis of GT. In the analysis, elements from GT are used as "line by line" coding, open and categorical coding. The categories were formed from the data material and presented in the form of a «sketched model». It is based on only five informants' experiences and perspectives and thus cannot be considered a complete Grounded Theory. Findings: The study indicates that employees work with UD-mappings in the municipalities in different ways. It is evident that the informants see the UD-mappings as a useful tool that contributes to universally designed school buildings. The mapping work can be of great importance for children's opportunities for activity and participation. The informants expresses that several contextual factors are of importance for good practice in example economic resources, competence, political influence and interdisciplinary/cross-sectoral work. Summary: This study may contribute to a better understanding of employees work with UD-mappings at the municipality level. This study may be relevant for occupational therapists and technical staff in municipalities mapping of universal design. M-FOL