# Best practices for physiological data collection in youth with autism and co-occurring mental health diagnoses: Implications for human-animal intervention research

## TL;DR

This paper provides best practices for collecting physiological data from youth with autism during equine-assisted therapy, aiming to improve research quality.

## Contribution

The paper introduces specific guidelines for electrocardiogram and electrodermal activity data collection in therapeutic horseback riding for youth with autism.

## Key findings

- Motivation strategies like device choice and reward systems improve participant compliance.
- Time-domain heart rate variability is more suitable for data collection during therapeutic horseback riding.
- An interdisciplinary data monitoring team enhances data quality in equine-assisted service research.

## Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to serve as a catalyst for the human-animal interaction research field to improve scientific rigor and accelerate the knowledge of field-based physiological responses during equine-assisted services in youth with autism spectrum disorder. This paper outlines the best practices for collecting and analyzing electrocardiogram and electrodermal activity in youth with autism spectrum disorder, utilized during a 10-week therapeutic horseback riding intervention.•Motivation strategies such as device choice, reward systems, and a visual schedule should be implemented to improve participant compliance. In addition, devices should be secured to the participant following implementation of appropriate desensitization techniques.•Time-domain heart rate variability analyses are more appropriate during therapeutic horseback riding data collection compared to frequency-domain approaches. For electrodermal activity, tonic responses should be assessed as opposed to phasic analyses.•An effective data monitoring team including the Data Collection Research Personnel, Site Principal Investigator, Physiologist, and Therapeutic Riding Center Intervention Lead are key to increasing the quality of usable data in equine-assisted service research environments.

Motivation strategies such as device choice, reward systems, and a visual schedule should be implemented to improve participant compliance. In addition, devices should be secured to the participant following implementation of appropriate desensitization techniques.

Time-domain heart rate variability analyses are more appropriate during therapeutic horseback riding data collection compared to frequency-domain approaches. For electrodermal activity, tonic responses should be assessed as opposed to phasic analyses.

An effective data monitoring team including the Data Collection Research Personnel, Site Principal Investigator, Physiologist, and Therapeutic Riding Center Intervention Lead are key to increasing the quality of usable data in equine-assisted service research environments.

Image, graphical abstract