Animal-Assisted Intervention in Dementia

Abstract

There is a need to develop nonpharmacological treatments and methods which can serve as alternatives or complements to medications in dementia care. Previous research indicates that animal-assisted intervention (AAI) can be beneficial. The purpose of the present pilot project was to evaluate effects of AAI on quality of life (QoL) in people with dementia in four Swedish nursing homes. A pretest/posttest research design was used. Twenty people (12 women, 8 men; aged 58 to 88) were included. Nine people completed the intervention which comprised 10 training sessions with a certified therapy dog team. QoL improved in the expected direction after the intervention (p = .035). Even though the effects of AAI may not be discernible over longer periods of time, there are still immediate effects which can promote better QoL for people living with dementia diseases.

A therapy dog’s impact on daytime activity and night-time sleep for older persons with Alzheimer’s disease - A case study

“…Investigating the differences between these two individuals might prove interesting, bearing in mind that both have severe AD but differ from each other in both daytime and night-time activity. Several studies [13,16,17,20,21,23,24,34,35] suggest that AAT with a therapy dog influences persons with AD and other dementias in many ways, for example creating increased social activity, joy and well-being, although Kongable et al [36] found that when a therapy dog moved in to the ward with persons with AD, no significant increases of social behaviour was noted. Swall, Ebbeskog, Lundh Hagelin and Fagerberg [37] also found that the presence of a therapy dog brings moments of sadness difficult for persons with AD to handle.…”

“…For persons with dementia, AAT with a therapy dog is described as having a positive effect [12] , for example decreasing anxiety and lowering blood pressure [13] , and increasing social behaviour manifested in smiles, talk and eye contact [14][15][16][17] . Decreased depressive symptoms [18] , increased activity [19] and quality of life [20] are also reported. Persons with AD spending time with a dog show lower frequency of verbal aggressiveness and agitative behaviour [21][22][23] .…”

Animal Companions and Military Veterans: How Dogs Can Help America’s Heroes

“…Additionally, the removal of a disorder is not the sole goal of psychotherapy; an increased quality of life and enhanced level of functioning must also be attended to (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2000). Canine interaction has a documented positive effect in these areas (Nordgren and Engstrom 2014).…”

Effects of dog-assisted intervention on quality of life in nursing home residents with dementia

“…Their conclusion is that long-term effects might not be expected, which seems in line with the present findings. In a study by Nordgren and Engstrom [6], DAIs were performed in the same manner as in the present study. Short-term effects on QoL were observed, but no long-term effects were present.…”

“…The dogs are used with positive results in healthcare settings in relation to people with dementia or psychiatric disorders [3,4]. A growing scientific evidence base indicates that DAIs can reduce behavioral and psychological symptoms and/or improve quality of life (QoL) in people with dementia [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Moreover, the use of therapy dogs can possibly slow down the progression of cognitive impairment in patients with early stage or mild Alzheimer's disease [12].…”