Effectiveness of a Dog-Assisted Therapy Program to Enhance Quality of Life in Institutionalized Dementia Patients

Briones, María Ángeles; García, Isabel Pardo; Sotos, Francisco Escribano

doi:10.1177/1054773819867250

Cited by 14 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In summary, it can be concluded that the best evidence in the affective and behavioral areas can have a positive influence at the psychosocial level and on the quality of life [17][18][19][20][21], which provides more data on the potential of these interventions as a complement to and support for the theories related to motivation, attention, social support, learning, and activation of the experimental system developed to date [23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Data collection was conducted in the beginning, at four months, and at eight months of intervention by occupational therapists or working psychologists from the participating centers. For the measurement of the four areas of study or dependent variables, the following scales were used (all widely used in the centers and studies consulted) [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]: for the cognitive area, the Mini-Cognitive State Examination (MEC-30) with a weighted kappa index of 0.637; a sensitivity of 89.8% and specificity of 75.1% [29]; for the functional area, the modified Barthel index (kappa between 0.47 and 1.00 with respect to the inter-observer and between 0.84 and 0.97 for the intraobserver) [30]; for the effective area, the Cornell Scale of Depression in dementia (CSDD) (kappa between 0.61 and 0.84 and a total reliability of 0.93, internal consistency of 0.81) [31,32], and for the behavioral area, the Neuropsychiatric Disorders Inventory (NPI) with a Pearson's correlation index of 0.879 for the severity scale and 0.92 for the stress scale [33]. In addition, the following independent sociodemographic variables were collected from the clinical records: sex, age, education (basic, middle and higher) and center, and the clinical data collected included: type of disorder additional to dementia (cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety and diabetes), time of residence, and regular daily therapies (occupational therapy, physical therapy) and weekly complementary therapies (psychological, socio-cultural animation and alternative therapy: music therapy, work therapy and geronto-gymnastics).…”

Section: Instruments and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, several studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of DAT in older people with NCD. Improvements have been observed in psychiatric symptoms such as agitation, aggressiveness, anxiety, depression, or apathy [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], improvements in social interaction with increased prosocial behavior [9,11], improved quality of life [17][18][19][20], or preservation of functions such as alertness [21] or blood pressure [22]. There are several theories that attempt to explain the observed benefits of these interventions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benefits of Dog-Assisted Therapy in Patients with Dementia Residing in Aged Care Centers in Spain

Parra

Garre

Pérez

2021

IJERPH

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(1) Background: Currently, the scientific evidence on the benefits of assisted therapy with dogs in dementia is not clear. In this study, we want to evaluate such benefits through a randomized controlled clinical trial in multiple centers across the country. (2) Methods: The participants were people over 65 years old with dementia, residing in senior centers in Spain (n = 334). The experimental group underwent assisted therapy with dogs based on the Comprehensive Cognitive Activation Program in Dementia, for 8 months, with weekly sessions of 45 min. Data were collected at the commencement, middle, and end of the program, to evaluate the aspects using the Mini-Examination Cognitive, the modified Bartell Index, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. (3) Results: The results show significant improvements in the experimental group versus the control group in the affective (T1 = p 0.000; T2 = p 0.000) and behavioral (T1 = p 0.005; T2 = p 0.000) aspects, with the affective aspect displaying greater progress in participants with additional depressive (p = 0.022) or anxiety (p = 0.000) disorders, shorter institutionalization periods (r = −0.222, p = 0.004), and those undergoing complementary psychotherapy (p = 0.033) or alternative therapy (p = 0.011). (4) Conclusions: Dog therapy is effective in improving the affective and behavioral aspects of institutionalized patients with dementia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Instruments and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benefits of Dog-Assisted Therapy in Patients with Dementia Residing in Aged Care Centers in Spain

Parra

Garre

Pérez

2021

IJERPH

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“…A preliminary study conducted by Menna et al [ 55 ] found that the repeated multisensory stimuli (verbal, visual, tactile) provided by the therapy dog were effective. AAT has been considered a meaningful activity that provides stimulation and social interaction [ 56 , 57 ], and improves the participants’ mood [ 20 , 58 , 59 ]. Furthermore, interventions that favor communication and an optimistic atmosphere can have a positive impact on social interactions [ 9 , 60 , 61 ], as our study reflected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal-Assisted Therapy Improves Communication and Mobility among Institutionalized People with Cognitive Impairment

Rodrigo-Claverol¹,

Malla-Clua²,

Marquilles-Bonet³

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Disorders of communication, social relationships, and psychomotricity are often characterized by cognitive impairment, which hinders daily activities and increases the risk of falls. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an animal-assisted therapy (AAT) program in an institutionalized geriatric population with cognitive impairment. The variables evaluated included level of communication and changes in gait and/or balance. We performed a two-arm, parallel controlled, open-label, nonrandomized cluster clinical trial in two nursing home centers from an urban area. Patients in the two centers received 12 weekly sessions of physiotherapy, but the experimental group included AAT with a therapy dog. The study included a total of 46 patients (23 Control Group [CG], 23 Experimental Group [EG]) with a median age of 85.0 years. Of these, 32.6% had mild–moderate cognitive decline (Global Deterioration Scale of Reisberg [GDS] 2–4) and 67.4% severe cognitive decline (GDS 5–6). After the intervention, patients in the CG and EG showed a statistically significant improvement in all the response variables. When comparing both groups, no statistically significant differences were found in any of the Tinetti scale results (measuring gait and balance). However, the communication of patients in the EG, measured on the Holden scale, showed a statistically significant greater improvement postintervention than that of patients in the CG. AAT can be useful as a complementary, effective treatment for patients with different degrees of cognitive decline.

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“…Moreover, due to ethological characteristics, dogs not only learn through play, just like children, but are prone to establishing active relationships, communications, and interactions [ 22 ]. In recent years, several studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of dog-assisted therapies in AD patients [ 10 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], but some studies concluded that the improvements observed were not always significant [ 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Dog-Assisted Therapies on Cognitive Mnemonic Capabilities in People Affected by Alzheimer’s Disease

Quintavalla

Cao²,

Spinelli³

et al. 2021

Animals

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in humans and, currently, a valid treatment is lacking. Our goal is to demonstrate the importance and benefits of the relationship with companion animals (considered as co-therapists), intended as a means of facilitating social relations and promoting evident wellbeing in AD patients. The study involved 30 randomly chosen patients with Alzheimer’s disease (group T) and three dogs. The group participated in a total of 24 animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) sessions over a span of 12 weeks, using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Wellness and Cognitive Ability Questionnaire (Brief Assessment Cognition or BAC), and Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) as assessment tests. A second group (group C), consisting of 10 people with AD, was enrolled as control group and underwent the same assessment tests but did not benefit from the presence of the dogs. Tests were carried out at time T0 (before starting sessions), T1 (end of sessions), and T2 (two months after last session). People belonging to group T achieved an overall improvement in their perceived state of wellbeing, even on a cognitive and mnemonic plane. However, two months after the end of the sessions, the test results in people suffering from AD decreased towards the baseline (T0). The study shows how such progress can be achieved through activities based on the relationship with an animal, as long as the animal is a steady presence in the life of the patient receiving the intervention. Dogs involved in other dog-assisted therapies have been found suitable also for assisting patients with AD.

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Effectiveness of a Dog-Assisted Therapy Program to Enhance Quality of Life in Institutionalized Dementia Patients

Cited by 14 publications

References 25 publications

Benefits of Dog-Assisted Therapy in Patients with Dementia Residing in Aged Care Centers in Spain

Benefits of Dog-Assisted Therapy in Patients with Dementia Residing in Aged Care Centers in Spain

Animal-Assisted Therapy Improves Communication and Mobility among Institutionalized People with Cognitive Impairment

Effects of Dog-Assisted Therapies on Cognitive Mnemonic Capabilities in People Affected by Alzheimer’s Disease

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