Pets in Health Care Settings

Recognition of the strong bond between older adults and pet animals has led to the proliferation of programs in health care settings designed to improve the health and well-being of residents through the use of animals. Pets have long been considered sources of unconditional love and acceptance, so it is not surprising that the medical field is exploring the benefits of incorporating animals as treatment tools for physical and emotional therapy.

Some health care settings have included pets as an integral part of their environment. On entering one of these settings, it is not unusual to be greeted at the door by the resident dog, to find a jar of pet treats on the program administrator's desk, or to encounter a cat sleeping on a resident's bed. The Eden Alternative, a popular model used by residential care facilities, uses companion animals, as well as children and gardens, to create more enlivened environments for older adults. Promising research on the effects of pet animal contact on older adults has also resulted in pet-assisted therapy programs that take dogs, cats, and other small animals into hospitals, nursing homes, and other health-related settings to visit residents.

Introducing animals to health care settings may help improve the well-being of older adults by creating a home-like environment. Several studies conducted in health care environments have used an experimental design to examine the effects of introducing an animal on the social behavior of older adults. Animal-visiting programs in residential care facilities have produced improvements in social interaction and competence, psychosocial function, life satisfaction, mental function, and psychological well-being in residents. For older adults with low social functioning and involvement, companion animals themselves can be an accessible source of social and tactile contact. Facilitating contact between older adults and animals in health settings has also been found to have a positive impact on humans' physical health. Researchers have found that regularly stroking an animal lowers blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol while releasing other hormones with physiological benefits. Other studies have demonstrated that pain and anxiety are reduced in older adults who spend time with pets. Most programs where animals have been used in an attempt to benefit older adults [Page 463]have not identified the characteristics of the individuals who showed improvement. Those studies that did include information about participants' past experiences with pet animals showed that individuals with strong positive experiences demonstrated more significant improvement than did those individuals with less positive experiences.

There is increasing evidence that pets improve the quality of life for many older adults. Although not a substitute for human contact and a positive environment, the therapeutic use of pet animals has been shown to promote quality of life and positive health benefits for older adults in health care settings.