The Ministry of Health, in recent days, has attributed to the Military Health Service the exclusive competence for the verification of the possession of the requirements and the control of the maintenance of operating standards in the context of the activities of Assisted Interventions with Animals (IAA) at the military facilities.
Within the Army, the equestrian rehabilitation centers of Lecce, Cagliari, Grosseto, Rome, Turin, Montelibretti and Milan are the site of equestrian rehabilitation; Pet Therapy programs with dogs are instead conducted at the Military Penitentiary Organization of S. Maria Capua Vetere.
The interventions assisted with the animals are activities with therapeutic, rehabilitative, educational and recreational-recreational value that involve the use of animals as key players in the process of patient improvement. The correct application of the IAA requires the involvement of a multidisciplinary team composed, according to the type of intervention, by health, pedagogical and technical figures with different tasks and responsibilities.
The Army Veterinary Service coordinates and encourages the activities of IAA, cooperating with multiple moral and non-profit organizations to support citizens in difficulty or with disabilities, offering them a human and professional contribution that helps them in their path of rehabilitation and recovery.
"The relationship with the animal reignites the interest in others, creating an empathy that also leads depressed patients and in social isolation to react and feel useful. (...) The use of animals determines not only a better response of the patient, but often contributes to the reduction of the use of drugs, with further advantages both for the quality of life and in terms of costs for the community."Declares the Hon. Vito De Filippo, former Undersecretary of State for Health, in the preface to the current IAA National Guidelines, approved in the 2015 by the State-Regions Agreement.
