About Cats and Dogs … Reconsidering the Relationship Between Pet Ownership and Health Related Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Elderly

Rijken, Mieke; Beek, Sandra van

doi:10.1007/s11205-010-9690-8

Cited by 46 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The findings also highlight the need to investigate the differing impact on emotional wellbeing when living with a dog compared with living with a cat, especially in light of research indicating that pet-related characteristics may contribute to the human's perceived health and wellbeing (Duvall Antonacopoulos and Pychyl 2010; Rijken and van Beek 2011). In the current study, there were insufficient numbers to provide statistical power to examine dog and cat owners separately.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Companion Animals and Wellbeing When Living with HIV in Australia

Hutton

2014

Anthrozoös

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of companion animals on wellbeing amongst individuals living with HIV in Australia. It was hypothesized that participants living with a companion animal would report greater emotional wellbeing than those who did not. It was also hypothesized that participants reporting a stronger attachment to their companion animal would report greater emotional wellbeing. A total of 128 participants (77 with companion animals and 51 without companion animals) were recruited through Australian AIDS Councils. All participants completed measures of HIV-related emotional wellbeing, perceived experiences of HIV-related unsupportive social interactions, selfassessed health, and socio-demographics. Those living with companion animals completed additional items about the animal, including the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS). Sample comparisons indicated that those living with a companion animal had significantly greater emotional wellbeing scores, and reported reduced experiences of HIV-related unsupportive social interactions, compared with those who did not. In addition, multiple regression analyses showed living with a companion animal to be predictive of emotional wellbeing. However, analysis of LAPS scores indicated greater attachment to a companion animal was significantly associated with reduced emotional wellbeing and self-assessed health, and increased reports of HIV-related unsupportive social interactions. It is proposed that some individuals facing increased negative HIV-related challenges may actively seek out a stronger attachment relationship with a companion animal in order to buffer these stressful life conditions. This study provides empirical support for the benefits that companion animals may offer some members of a potentially vulnerable or stigmatized population group, and reinforces the need to validate and support the human-animal relationship.

show abstract

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Companion Animals and Wellbeing When Living with HIV in Australia

Hutton

2014

Anthrozoös

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The survey did not include questions that allow adjustment for self-selection (that people who like to walk may choose to live in more walkable neighbourhoods), although emerging evidence supports a role for the built environment independent of people’s preferences for walking [ 55 – 57 ]. Third, the CCHS-HA had a question on pet ownership, but not specifically dog ownership; the literature suggests that it is dog ownership that is associated with walking [ 58 , 59 ]. Fourth, survey data were collected in 2008–2009 and the Walk Score data were from 2013.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Older adults’ outdoor walking and the built environment: does income matter?

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundOur aim was to examine the association between Street Smart Walk Score® and self-reported outdoor walking among older Canadians, and to determine whether socioeconomic status modifies this association.MethodsWe linked objective walkability data with cross-sectional survey data from the Canadian Community Health Survey Healthy-Aging 2008–2009 Cycle for a sample of 1309 British Columbians aged ≥ 65 years. We examined associations between Street Smart Walk Score and meeting physical activity guidelines (≥150 min of moderate to vigorous activity/week) through self-reported outdoor walking using multivariable logistic regression, and tested for significant interactions with household income.ResultsA ten point higher Street Smart Walk Score was associated with a 17 % higher odds of meeting physical activity guidelines through walking outside (95 % CI: 1.07,1.27). In addition, older adults living in neighbourhoods categorised as Walker’s Paradise were over three times more likely to meet guidelines than those living in Car-dependent/Very car dependent neighbourhoods. We found no evidence that household income moderated the effect of Walk Score on walking outside.ConclusionsNeighbourhood design may be one avenue whereby physical activity levels of older people can be enhanced through outdoor walking, with benefit across socioeconomic strata.

show abstract

“…Pets could also potentially become a financial burden for the owner due to costs associated with basic pet care needs and damage to the home (Hara, 2007). Increased medication use (Parslow et al, 2005) and use of mental health-care services (Rijken and van Beek, 2011) were also found in pet owners. Greater use of mental health-care services was reported by cat owners, and the authors hypothesised that personality traits could be responsible for this effect (Rijken and van Beek, 2011).…”

Section: Functional Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Greater use of mental health-care services was reported by cat owners, and the authors hypothesised that personality traits could be responsible for this effect (Rijken and van Beek, 2011). Although most studies reported the above pros or cons as key findings from their studies, nine studies (14.5%) had some equivocal findings related to the different reported psycho-social, physical and functional outcomes; in other words, it could not be determined if pets had positive or negative impacts on pet owners (Raina et al, 1999;Simons et al, 2000;Wells and Rodi, 2000;Pachana et al, 2005;Nunnelee, 2006;Rijken and van Beek, 2011;Shibata et al, 2012;Gretebeck et al, 2013).…”

Section: Functional Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pros and cons of pet ownership in sustaining independence in community-dwelling older adults: a scoping review

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although community services support ageing-in-place, older adults often report feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Unmet emotional needs are associated with poorer health, reduced functional abilities and increased mortality in this population. Pet ownership is an avenue worth exploring to reduce these adverse outcomes. This scoping review maps main findings and identifies key gaps with respect to the pros and cons of pet ownership in community-dwelling older adults pertaining to psycho-social, physical and functional outcomes. Scientific and grey literature published from January 2000 to July 2018 was searched. Data selection and extraction were performed by the first author and a sub-sample was co-validated by two co-authors. A total of 62 sources were included for descriptive and thematic analysis. A variety of pros (increased physical activity, wellbeing) and cons (grief, risk of falls) pertaining to psycho-social and physical outcomes were identified. Not many functional outcomes (support for daily routines) were mentioned, and few studies explored the simultaneous balance between the pros and cons of pet care. Further research exploring both clinicians’ and older pet owners’ perspectives is needed to deepen our understanding of the importance of considering companion animals in older adults’ daily lives and to strike a balance between perceived risks and benefits.

show abstract

About Cats and Dogs … Reconsidering the Relationship Between Pet Ownership and Health Related Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Elderly

Abstract: Pets, Self-reported health, Mental health, Physical exercise, Loneliness, Health services use,

Cited by 46 publications

References 38 publications

Companion Animals and Wellbeing When Living with HIV in Australia

Companion Animals and Wellbeing When Living with HIV in Australia

Older adults’ outdoor walking and the built environment: does income matter?

Pros and cons of pet ownership in sustaining independence in community-dwelling older adults: a scoping review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About