PAWS brings dogs Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind to campus to help with exam stress
Dogs from The Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind were on DCU’s St Patrick’s campus today as part of the PAWS Project, Promoting And supporting the Wellbeing of Students, to help alleviate exam stress for students. They will be visiting DCU’s Glasnevin Campus (on the green in front of the library) on Thursday 31st March between 12-2pm.
The project is funded by the DCU Quality Improvement and Development (QuID) Fund and is led by Dr. Anna Donnla O'Hagan and Dr. Hannah Goss from the School of Health and Human Performance.
Exams can be a period of high stress and this can lead to poor academic performance, increased tension, and increased physiological stress. Research has shown that time spent in exam periods with therapy dogs (TD), or provision of animal-assisted activities (AAA), has significantly reduced stress levels, depression, feelings of isolation and can have physiological benefits.
Speaking about PAWS, Dr. Anna Donnla O'Hagan said
“Studies conducted with third level institutions have proven very successful, with students and staff requesting more AAA on campus, implying that not only do these activities contribute mentally and physiologically to well-being, but they are also really enjoyable experiences.
Students have noted that spending even short amounts of time with the dogs or animals provided significant stress relief.”
Dr. Hannah Goss said
“We think having these dogs on campus in the lead up to exams will be of real benefit to students. We’ll be asking anyone who spends time with the dogs to complete a short questionnaire about their experience. This data will enable us to produce evidence based research on student wellbeing.”
About Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is Ireland’s national charity dedicated to enabling people who are vision impaired and families of children with autism to achieve improved mobility and independence.
For over forty years they have worked with our community of breeders, puppy raisers, Home socialisers, temporary boarders, trainers, staff, volunteers and supporters to change as many lives as possible.
They currently have nearly 400 Guide and Assistance Dogs Clients in Ireland.
To find out more about their work, please visit guidedogs.ie
