Companion Animals and Health in Older Populations: A Systematic Review

Hughes, Michael J.; Verreynne, Martie‐Louise; Harpur, Paul; Pachana, Nancy A.

doi:10.1080/07317115.2019.1650863

Cited by 69 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…On the one hand, this study shows that increasing daily companionship has a direct and positive impact on improving mental health. Previous studies have shown that the companionship of friends and pets directly affects the mental health of the elderly [32,57], which is similar to our research results. On the other hand, companionship improves physical health through physical activity, which indirectly contributes to the improvement of mental health.…”

Section: The Direct and Indirect Effects Of Companionship On Mental Healthsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Left-behind children in rural China also tend to be lonely, depressed, and have a lower life satisfaction [9,29], while family members can ease the working pressure of Chinese migrant workers in remote places [30]. In addition, the companionship of pets can not only reduce depression, anxiety, and loneliness, but also increase empathy and socialization of pet owners [31][32][33].…”

Section: The Impact Of Companionship On Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The indirect influence on physical health is mainly reflected as mediating variable in physical activities. Though there are relatively few studies on this topic, related studies showed that pet companionship could stimulate more frequent leisure-time physical activities, which would increase physical activity and significantly enhance the health situation of patients, including obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia [32,33,44,45].…”

Section: The Impact Of Companionship On Physical Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physical Activities in Public Squares: The Impact of Companionship on Chinese Residents’ Health

Xiong

Liu

Peng

et al. 2021

Land

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Companionship is the most important social support factor in physical activities, but the influence of companionship on the daily physical activities of Chinese people in the square is not clear. The ordered logistic regression was conducted to identify the companionship and physical activities associated with the physical and mental health of residents (n = 196). The results show that companionship has direct and indirect effects on mental health, and companionship acts on physical health through physical activity in public squares. Our research understands the use of public open space (POS) from the perspective of companionship and provides a new perspective for improving the sociality of POS design.

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Section: The Direct and Indirect Effects Of Companionship On Mental Healthsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: The Impact Of Companionship On Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Impact Of Companionship On Physical Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physical Activities in Public Squares: The Impact of Companionship on Chinese Residents’ Health

Xiong

Liu

Peng

et al. 2021

Land

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“…Research on community-living older adults focuses mainly on the health benefits gained from companion animals (e.g., Krause-Parello & Kolassa, 2016). The most recent systematic review on older adults and animals found that, although the effect on cognitive functioning among residents with dementia or Alzheimers disease in a longterm care setting is inconsistent, close to 80% of relevant studies reported positive mental and physical health outcomes of having companion animals, based on the respective aspects they measured (Hughes, Verreynne, Harpur, & Pachana, 2020). As benefits of animal companionship for older adults are increasingly understood, its potential as an intervention strategy is being recognised (Gee & Mueller, 2019).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As benefits of animal companionship for older adults are increasingly understood, its potential as an intervention strategy is being recognised (Gee & Mueller, 2019). Thus, companionship with other animals is frequently conceptualised as a means to enhance the quality of human life, although more now acknowledge the importance of considering the welfare of animals as well (e.g., Gee & Mueller, 2019;Hughes et al, 2020). Aside from such works, a smaller number of studies focus on issues such as grief and loss of pets (Laing & Maylea, 2018;Morley & Fook, 2005), elder abuse (Boat & Knight, 2001;Peak, Ascione, & Doney, 2012), end of life care (Dorfman, Denduluri, Walseman, & Bregman, 2012;Engelman, 2013;Geisler, 2004), and animal hoarding (Koenig, Leiste, Spano, & Chapin,2013;Nathanson, 2009).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

No pets allowed: A trans-species social justice perspective to address housing issues for older adults and companion animals

Matsuoka

Sorenson

Graham

et al. 2020

ANZSWJ

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INTRODUCTION: Significant benefits of companion animals (i.e., pets) for older adults are recognized and publications on Animal-Assisted Intervention, Animal-Assisted Activities and Animal-Assisted Therapies with older adults are growing. Studies on housing and community- residing older adults with companion animals from a non-utilitarian perspective on other animals, however, are rather limited.METHODS: For this scoping review, we used a Critical Animal Studies perspective, in particular, a trans-species social justice framework to address two questions: “What are the scope and size of the literature on housing for community living older adults with companion animals?” and “What is known from the existing literature?” We searched peer-reviewed publications from 1980 to 2019 by using MEDLINE, PsychINFO, ProQuest and Scopus.FINDINGS: Six works from Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and US met our criteria. A disturbing reality was discovered: Restrictive leasing (‘no pets’ for rental housing) among low-income older adults with companion animals in public housing has persisted for the last 40 years and prevents them from accessing affordable housing. Also, the discourse of pets as problems or risk seems to justify prohibiting older adults from living with companion animals.CONCLUSION: Utilising the concept of speciesism and a trans-species social justice framework for analysis, we argue that intersectional institutional oppression of speciesism and classism is a root cause of the situation. Justice for older adults cannot be achieved without justice for their companion animals. Future studies in human–animal relations and education and practice in social work need to incorporate ideas of speciesism and justice beyond humans.

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Pet ownership supports quality of life in home‐dwelling people with Alzheimer's disease

Välimäki

Koivisto

Kärkkäinen

et al. 2022

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

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Objectives Human‐animal interactions have beneficial psychosocial and psychophysiological effects on individuals in both the presence and absence of medical health conditions. No previous prospective studies with long follow‐up have investigated the effects of domestic pets on individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) who live at home. We examined the effects of pets on quality of life (QoL) and general well‐being during a 5‐year follow‐up of home‐dwelling persons with AD. Methods In a prospective study including 223 patients with very mild (Clinical Dementia Rating Scale [CDR] 0.5) or mild (CDR 1) AD at baseline who participated in the ALSOVA study, 40 (18%) had a pet. Self‐ and proxy‐rated QoL in AD quality of life‐AD (QoL‐AD), 15D, and self‐rated visual analogic scale (VAS) were assessed annually for 3 years and after 5 years. The Mini‐Mental State Examination, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, and CDR sum of boxes (CDR sum of boxes) were measured at the same visits. Results A significant positive effect of pet ownership (p = 0.003, proxy‐rated QoL‐AD) on QoL was found over the entire follow‐up. However, self‐rated QoL‐AD, 15D, and VAS did not significantly differ between pet owners and non‐pet owners. Conclusions The findings suggest that having a pet may support QoL in home‐dwelling persons with AD. Self‐rated or general QoL or well‐being measurements are not an accurate method for studying QoL in individuals with dementia over time due to a lack of insight. Adding proxy‐rated evaluations to this kind of study is recommended.

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Companion Animals and Health in Older Populations: A Systematic Review

Cited by 69 publications

References 65 publications

Physical Activities in Public Squares: The Impact of Companionship on Chinese Residents’ Health

Physical Activities in Public Squares: The Impact of Companionship on Chinese Residents’ Health

No pets allowed: A trans-species social justice perspective to address housing issues for older adults and companion animals

Pet ownership supports quality of life in home‐dwelling people with Alzheimer's disease

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