Centre for Policy on Ageing



The effects of animal-assisted therapy on loneliness in an elderly population in long term care facilities
Author(s)	Marian R Banks, William A Banks
Journal title	Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, vol 57A, no 7, July 2002
Pages	pp M428-432
Keywords	Pet keeping ; Therapy ; Loneliness ; Residents [care homes] ; Nursing homes ; Long term ; United States of America.
Annotation	Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is claimed to have a variety of benefits, but almost all published results are anecdotal. The authors characterised the resident population in long-term care facilities desiring AAT and determined whether AAT can objectively decrease loneliness. Of 62 residents, 45 met inclusion criteria in the study. These 45 residents were administered the Demographic and Pet History Questionnaire (DPHQ) and Version 3 of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS). They were then randomised into three groups (no AAT; AAT once a week; AAT 3 times a week) and retested with the UCLA-LS near the end of the 6-week study. Use of the DPHQ showed that residents volunteering for the study had a strong life history of emotional intimacy with pets, and wished they currently had a pet. Compared with the no AAT group, AAT was shown to significantly reduce loneliness scores. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-020904209 A
Classmark	HVT: LO: DV: KX: LHB: 4Q: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.