Funding available for addressing Evidence Based Health Benefits of Human-Animal Interaction

Focus Areas

• Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
  • Studies investigating the vital role of pet ownership for the health and well-being of people, pets, and communities.
  • Broadly generalizable human-animal bond studies impacting large populations in the categories of child health and development, healthy aging, mental health, and physical health.
  • The human health impacts of animal-assisted interventions, including in professional practice, volunteer programs, and educational contexts, and research that refines or informs best practices to improve health outcomes and quality of life for the humans and animals involved.
  • Studies that are translational in that at least one aim is to produce actionable advice, guidelines, and recommendations for policymakers as it relates to supporting pet owners, the human-animal bond and/or human-animal interactions.
  • Studies that are translational in that at least one aim is to produce actionable advice, guidelines, and recommendations for veterinarians and other pet care professionals, pet owners and/or those interested in acquiring a pet.
  • Studies with clinical implications for human health practitioners or studies with at least one aim to produce actionable advice, guidelines, and recommendations for human health practitioners working with and/or supporting pet owners, the human-animal bond and/or animal-assisted interventions.
  • How companion animal ownership and/or interaction helps address those impacted by public health and social crises, such as generalized anxiety and stress; social isolation and loneliness; suicide, addiction, and substance abuse; access to social service and housing; trauma and/or post-traumatic stress; obesity and physical activity; and cardiovascular health.
  • The role of pets in supporting the health and wellbeing of people from diverse backgrounds or underrepresented or minorities populations.
  • The role of the human-animal bond in veterinary medicine, including its impact on access to care, compliance and quality of care, and veterinary team wellbeing. Studies that explore the role of veterinarians and animal health professionals in human-animal bond research are also of interest.
  • The bond between humans and a wide variety of pet species which may include (but are not limited to) dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, small mammals, horses and fish.
  • International perspectives of the human-animal bond, investigating the health outcomes of pet ownership and/or AAI in countries, communities, and cultures, including those that are under-represented in current literature.

Eligibility Criteria

• International applicants from academic institutions and non-profit organizations are eligible to apply.
• There are no additional governance requirements in order to meet IRB and IACUC requirements (institutional approvals suffice).
• All dollar amounts must be expressed in U.S. dollars.

For more information, visit HABRI.