Research into Human-Animal-Environment Relationships
At the Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC), we aim to improve the overall well-being of humans, animals and the environment through innovative, scientifically sound research and scholarship in therapeutic human-animal interactions, animals in communities and conservation social work. Informed by a systems view of social problems and guided by principles of efficacy, beneficence and justice, our research provides novel insights into the relationships between humans, animals and the environment we share.
Therapeutic Human-Animal Interactions
A primary research focus for IHAC is understanding how to ethically and most effectively incorporate animals and the natural environment in diverse, therapeutic and community-based settings to promote health, learning, and social change. For example:
- In partnership with Green Chimneys, we’re conducting a series of studies to understand the impacts of animal-, horticultural- and natural-environment-based interventions on youths’ social emotional learning and developmental health in complex mental health treatment and special education environments.
- We’re measuring the impacts of including animals in therapy on client engagement in clinical environments.
- We’re identifying best practices for implementing prison-based dog training programs and measuring the impacts of these programs on incarcerated people, prison staff, dogs, and community health.
- We’re measuring the impacts of human-canine interactions on both species’ stress responses using biomarkers and measures of subjective stress.
Animals in Communities
We’re working to understand the role of companion animals in communities and their impact in areas such as local economies and human health. For example:
- In partnership with the Humane Society of the United States and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Shelter Medicine Program, we’re measuring the impacts of Pets for Life, an intensive animal welfare intervention, on public and environmental health within the One Health framework.
- We’re measuring the social, environmental and economic impacts of animal welfare practices and policies in several cities nationwide.
- We’re working to identify animal sheltering practices that optimize outcomes for the animals and communities they serve by incorporating social work best practices and concepts.
Conservation Social Work
We’re investigating the interrelationships among humans, the natural physical environment and nonhuman animals. For example:
- In collaboration with the Humane Education Coalition and Zoology Foundation, we’re assessing the state of humane education in primary schools across the United States.
- In partnership with Having Kids, we’re collecting feedback on a human rights approach to family planning.
- Working with the College of Wooster and Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, we’re combating the wildlife trade through education in China.
News about IHAC Research
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Institute for Human-Animal Connection
New DU Research Measures Impact of Denver's Pit Bull Ban
Since the ban’s adoption in 1989, the question of public safety has, in large part, shaped the conversation over Denver’s BSL, but a new University of Denver study, published in Animal Law Review by the Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) at the Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW), calls this argument into question. -
Institute for Human-Animal Connection
Professor's Research Measures Economic Impact of Animal Welfare Activities
Issues like rising health care costs and increasing rates of obesity usually fall on the shoulders of doctors, policy makers and government officials. But Oklahoma City’s unlikely superheroes in the arena of human health may just be dogs.
Transforming Trauma: Resilience and Healing Through Our Connections with Animals
Edited by Philip Tedeschi & Molly Anne Jenkins, this book focuses on research developments, models, and practical applications of human-animal connection and animal-assisted intervention for diverse populations who have experienced trauma.
Beyond Cages: Animal Law and Criminal Punishment
Justin Marceau demonstrates that a focus on "carceral animal law" puts the animal rights movement at odds with other social justice movements and may be bad for humans and animals alike.
