Introduction
Animal-aided therapy (AAT) is a complementary or alternative therapy involving animals. Animal-assisted practices enhance an individual’s cognitive, emotional, and social functioning. In this assignment, this paper will extend the overview of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) research and whether it is beneficial to residential aged care facilities and nursing staff to assist with reducing anxiety and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The term “dementia” refers to a group of signs and symptoms caused by disorders affecting the brain which can often affect thinking, memory, speech, personality, and behavior. According to recent statistics from dementia Australia, an estimated 4000,000 Australians are living with dementia. Without a medical breakthrough, it is predicted this number will substantially continue to rise (“Dementia in Australia,” 2022).
Telenius, E. W., Engedal, K., & Bergland, A. (2015). Effect of a high-intensity exercise program on physical function and mental health in nursing home residents with dementia: an assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial. PloS one, 10(5), e0126102.
Telenius, Engedal, and Bergland claim that dementia is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the elderly and that over 80% of nursing home residents in Norway have dementia. With such a large number of the elderly population diagnosed with dementia, nurses need to understand how the loss of cognition and functional decline can attribute to behaviors such as anxiety, agitation, restlessness, wandering and low moods, and depression. The article suggests that (AAT) can assist or improve depression and lower anxiety, improving the quality of life amongst the elderly living within an aged care facility (Telenius, Engedal & Bergland, 2015). With such a high prevalence of people with dementia and (BPSD), the article suggests that (AAT) can have some pronoun effects on one’s physical and mental well-being. For instance, lowering blood pressure and increasing neurochemicals when interacting and bonding with animals can be linked to relaxation.
Studies had shown that the inclusion of animals within the therapeutic environment has existed since the ninth century when farm animals were used to assist disabled people. It was also evident that in the 1800s, Florence Nightingale was at the forefoot of advocating the use of pets while treating her patients (Telenius, Engedal & Bergland, 2015). Austrian-born neurologist Sigmund Fred reportedly uses his dog, Jofi, in psychotherapy sessions, believing dogs have a unique sense and can detect a patient’s level of tension.
Travers, C., Brooks, D., Hines, S., O’Reilly, M., McMaster, M., He, W., … & Beattie, E. (2016). Effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people with dementia in residential aged care: a systematic review. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 14(12), 163-225.
According to this article, the power to engage in valued practices, whether for leisure, work, or family, is a crucial aspect of individual personality. In dementia, continued memory loss refers to abilities established over a certain period starting to be lost, leading to the loss of identity and self (Travers et al., 2016). Some studies indicate that interventions or activities tailored to be beneficial to an individual with dementia are more efficient in addressing psychological and behavioral symptoms of dementia and enhancing the standard of life than those the ones that are untailored. However, the significance of individualizing activities or interventions for many populations has yet to be well known. Offering individualized or meaningful tailored practices for individuals with dementia among nursing home residents appears to be proper for psychological and behavioral symptoms (Travers et al., 2016). The magnificent evidence was for personalized recreational interventions and practices for a group of BPSD, adopted music for distress, anxiety, and depression, and RT for cognitive and mood functioning. Insufficient justification precluded making conclusions concerning animal-aided training and therapy employees to establish individual care plans.
Smith, C., Bixler, D., George, A., Fusco, N., & DeLuca, A. (2020). A pilot study of Animal-assisted activity among hospitalized older adults. Geriatric Nursing, 41(6), 905–908.
Smith et al. claim that Animal aided activity is a non-medical practice that has been proven to minimize anxiety among nursing residents n different settings. However, the Animal aided practices have not been assessed among acute custody hospitalized older individuals aged 65 and above (Smith et al., 2020). The pilot study showed that a visit from a coached dog and its trainer would minimize anxiety among hospitalized adult patients 65 years and above. Many Americans have pets, and this bond fosters security and safety for people while minimizing fear and other adverse thoughts. Animals in therapeutic settings can assist patients in becoming more communicative and social. They offer a concentration point for individuals who might experience fear when hospitalized (Smith et al., 2020). Animal-aided interactions combine the utilization of animals for the productive benefit of people.
Ambrosi, C., Zaiontz, C., Peragine, G., Sarchi, S., & Bona, F. (2019). A randomized controlled study on the effectiveness of animal‐assisted therapy on depression, anxiety, and illness perception in institutionalized elderly. Psychogeriatrics, 19(1), 55-64.
The article by Ambrosi and the other authors carries out a study to justify that dog-aided therapy is effective on anxiety and depression in institutionalized and individualized elderly. The article assesses patients’ sickness perception to determine core beliefs concerning personal control, mood, and illness coherence since they might impact treatment compliance (Ambrosi et al., 2019). The article also studies social interaction, pain perception, and background-bound touchable and observable variables. These studies verify that dog-aided therapy effectively minimizes signs of depression in the elderly. The escalation in verbal links with the handlers indicates that the dogs are a facilitator of social linkage, eliciting fruitful emotional responses (Ambrosi et al., 2019). Dog-aided treatment shows promising outcomes in the treatment control and illness timeline showing potential improvement in therapy-linked empowerment. However, further exploration and studies are also required.
Sahebalzamani, M., Rezaei, O., & Moghadam, L. F. (2020). Animal-assisted therapy on happiness and life quality of chronic psychiatric patients living in psychiatric residential care homes: a randomized controlled study. BMC Psychiatry, 20, 1-9.
In response to this article, psychiatric individuals residing in residential homes might often lack independence, option-making, and engagement in social practices. They typically have no visitors or few, and they do not have any aim of living (Sahebalzamani, Rezaei & Moghadam, 2020). Animals might increase the quality and happiness of life of these individuals in their residents. According to this article, there was a study done to show the impacts of Animal aided therapy on the quality and happiness of life of severely psychiatric individuals residing in residential homes in Iran. The study showed that providing happiness to chronic psychiatric individuals in residential homes is significant and might bring them back to the community and lead to a healthy life for the individuals (Sahebalzamani, Rezaei & Moghadam, 2020). The outcomes of the study also showed that Animal-aided treatment was necessary for the individuals living in these areas and increased their standard of life.
Park, S., Bak, A., Kim, S., Nam, Y., Kim, H. S., Yoo, D. H., & Moon, M. (2020). Animal-assisted and pet-robot interventions for ameliorating behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Biomedicines, 8(6), 150.
According to this article by Park et al., individuals with dementia typically suffer from psychological signs, for instance, aggression, agitation, and depression. One aim of dementia practice is to control and manage individuals’ inappropriate characters and psychological signs while considering their standard of life (Park et al., 2020). Animal-aided interventions or pet-robot practices are proper intervention mechanisms for older individuals with dementia and cognitive impairment. In addition, these interventions positively impact the psychological and behavioral signs of dementia. However, findings in these interventions have shown inconsistent outcomes. Some programs use coached animals to aid people with physical disabilities in handling practical challenges in their practices of daily lives. These programs are crucial to these population groups. The interventions offer joy to these people, increase their encouragement and enable them to rest. Individuals can solve their unmet emotional and physical requirements by being entangled in activities linked to the patient’s therapeutic targets (Park et al., 2020). Specifically, walking with a living creature or Animal not only benefits individuals with dementia. It also enhances the rehabilitation of older people who have experienced surgery or sickness by reacquainting them with healing ambulation speed. According to this article, the initial AAT to minimize depression and the power of AAI to minimize depression and enhance QOL in the elderly with dementia are presently being researched.
Olsen, C., Pedersen, I., Bergland, A., Enders‐Slegers, M. J., Patil, G., & Ihlebæk, C. (2016). Effect of animal‐assisted interventions on depression, agitation and quality of life in nursing home residents suffering from cognitive impairment or dementia: A cluster randomized controlled trial. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 31(12), 1312-1321.
The popularity of neuropsychiatric signs in a defective nursing home is extremely high, with agitation and depression being the common main symptoms. According to this article, Animal aided practices might positively impact signs of depression in older individuals with dementia, for instance, those in advanced ages (Olsen et al., 2016). For instance, this article embraces Dog-aided intervention as one of the best practices for dealing with depression. Dog-aided interventions utilize dogs to treat people for a specific aim. There are different directions for these interventions which have been determined. They include Therapeutic aims, activating aims, or aid for specific processes. In some nations like Sweden, therapy dogs, and their teams are coached and certified according to a national level. These dogs operate in various contexts. These dogs are utilized with positive outcomes in healthcare backgrounds concerning individuals with psychiatric ailments or dementia. An advancing scientific justification shows that DAIs might minimize psychological ad behavioral signs and enhance the standard of life in persons with dementia (Olsen et al., 2016). Moreover, using therapy dogs might slow down or minimize the progression of cognitive impairment in people with mild or early Alzheimer’s disease.
Tournier, I., Vives, M. F., & Postal, V. (2017). Animal-assisted intervention in dementia. Swiss Journal of Psychology.
According to this article, Animal aided therapy aims to enhance or maintain patients’ sociological, psychological, and physical functioning by impacting the linkage between the Animal, therapist, and a single or more patient (Tournier, Vives & Postal, 2017). The article states that research on AAT’s significance, effectiveness, and proper practices is rising. It has been observed that pets are friendly to human beings and an effective source of physical and sensory reminiscences, stimulations, and social relations (Tournier, Vives & Postal, 2017). Further advantages of utilizing pets in treatment are that pets are nonjudgmental and depend on body reactions more than people do, which is typically valuable when operating or relating with individuals with impaired language experiences. Thus Animal aided therapy is specifically suited for older people who have dementia.
Conclusion
AAT depends on the unique bond between animals and humans, particularly animals with the proper training and temperament for therapy. According to the above studies, this therapeutic strategy might allow individuals undergoing treatment to feel safer comfortable, and aided as they seek therapy for a mental health disorder. Certain Animal-aided activities might also be considered a type of AAT; however, mental healthcare experts disagree on this vocabulary. These practices involve animals, though they might have a different form of coaching than those utilized in AAT. Some examples of these Animal aided activities include studying how to coach dogs and caring for farm or domestic animals.
References
Ambrosi, C., Zaiontz, C., Peragine, G., Sarchi, S., & Bona, F. (2019). A randomized controlled study on the effectiveness of animal‐assisted therapy on depression, anxiety, and illness perception in institutionalized elderly. Psychogeriatrics, 19(1), 55-64.
Olsen, C., Pedersen, I., Bergland, A., Enders‐Slegers, M. J., Patil, G., & Ihlebæk, C. (2016). Effect of animal‐assisted interventions on depression, agitation and quality of life in nursing home residents suffering from cognitive impairment or dementia: A cluster randomized controlled trial. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 31(12), 1312-1321.
Park, S., Bak, A., Kim, S., Nam, Y., Kim, H. S., Yoo, D. H., & Moon, M. (2020). Animal-assisted and pet-robot interventions for ameliorating behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Biomedicines, 8(6), 150.
Sahebalzamani, M., Rezaei, O., & Moghadam, L. F. (2020). Animal-assisted therapy on happiness and life quality of chronic psychiatric patients living in psychiatric residential care homes: a randomized controlled study. BMC Psychiatry, 20, 1-9.
Smith, C., Bixler, D., George, A., Fusco, N., & DeLuca, A. (2020). A pilot study of Animal-assisted activity among hospitalized older adults. Geriatric Nursing, 41(6), 905-908.
Telenius, E. W., Engedal, K., & Bergland, A. (2015). Effect of a high-intensity exercise program on physical function and mental health in nursing home residents with dementia: an assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial. PloS one, 10(5), e0126102.
Tournier, I., Vives, M. F., & Postal, V. (2017). Animal-assisted intervention in dementia. Swiss Journal of Psychology.
Travers, C., Brooks, D., Hines, S., O’Reilly, M., McMaster, M., He, W., … & Beattie, E. (2016). Effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people with dementia in residential aged care: a systematic review. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 14(12), 163-225.
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