Equine-assisted activities and therapies in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder characterized by problems of inattention and impulsive hyperactivity. Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) have become an emerging non-pharmacological intervention option in patients with ADHD. AIM To perform a systematic review of updated literature about EAAT in children with ADHD. METHOD A systematic review was performed until 28 November (2019), in four electronic databases: Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase and Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria were: (1) Intervention program, with pre- and -post data, based on EAAT, (2) children with ADHD, (3) articles written in English. RESULTS A total of 9 articles were found that meet the inclusion criteria. The evidence level was C for 7 studies and B for 2 studies. The level of conclusion was 3. DISCUSSION There are few studies with high methodological quality and there is a high heterogeneity in the variables included, what make that the level of evidence and conclusion are low. CONCLUSION There is no account with enough studies of high methodological quality to determine that EAAT is an effective intervention for the treatment in children with ADHD.