What are the effects of animals on the health and wellbeing of residents in care homes? A systematic review of the qualitative and quantitative evidence
dc.contributor.author | Orr, N | |
dc.contributor.author | Abbott, R | |
dc.contributor.author | Bethel, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Paviour, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Whear, R | |
dc.contributor.author | Garside, R | |
dc.contributor.author | Coon, JT | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-03-27T09:49:14Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2023-03-25 | |
dc.date.updated | 2023-03-25T13:09:43Z | |
dc.description.abstract | Background There is some evidence to suggest that animal-assisted interventions can have beneficial impact for residents in long-term care, but the focus of the evidence has largely been on behavioural and psychosocial measured outcomes. Animals, either as companion animals or in the form of pet/animal-assisted therapy, may provide benefits in the form of social contact, as well as opportunities for sensory experiences and meaningful engagement not picked up by outcome tools. This review aimed to create a state-of-knowledge synthesis, bringing together qualitative and quantitative findings, on the impact of animal-human interaction on care home residents and care home staff. Methods Fourteen databases were searched from inception to July 2020. Forward and backward citation chasing of included articles was conducted. Screening was undertaken independently by a team of reviewers. Thematic synthesis and meta-analysis were used to synthesise the qualitative and quantitative data. Results Thirty-four studies, published in 40 articles (20 qualitative and 20 quantitative) were included. Five themes relating to resident wellbeing were identified in the qualitative evidence synthesis. These were animals as ‘living beings’, reminiscence and storytelling, caring (as ‘doing’ and ‘feeling’), respite (from loneliness, institutionalisation, and illness), and sensory engagement. A sixth theme related to staff perceptions and wellbeing, and a seventh to animal health and wellbeing. Maintaining identity was identified as an overarching theme. The majority of randomised trials had small sample sizes and were rated as low quality, mostly showing no evidence of beneficial effect. There was, however, limited evidence of a positive effect of pet/animal interaction on outcomes of loneliness, anxiety and depression, supporting the themes of respite and sensory engagement. Conclusions The presence of animals can significantly impact the health and wellbeing of some care home residents. Residents had meaningful relationships with animals and derived pleasure and comfort from them. Interacting with animals offered residents a way to maintain a sense of self in the care homes, and with support, residents with dementia could also express their identities. Facilitating residents to interact with animals as part of person-centred care may also help residents to feel ‘at home’ in the care home. Trial registration PROSPERO registration no: CRD42017058201. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | University of Exeter | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 23, article 170 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-03834-0 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/132784 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | BMC | en_GB |
dc.rights | © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. | en_GB |
dc.subject | Animals | en_GB |
dc.subject | Companion animals | en_GB |
dc.subject | Animal therapy | en_GB |
dc.subject | Pets | en_GB |
dc.subject | Long-term care | en_GB |
dc.subject | Dementia | en_GB |
dc.subject | Systematic review | en_GB |
dc.subject | Wellbeing | en_GB |
dc.title | What are the effects of animals on the health and wellbeing of residents in care homes? A systematic review of the qualitative and quantitative evidence | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2023-03-27T09:49:14Z | |
exeter.article-number | 170 | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available on open access from BMC via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.description | Availability of data and materials: This file has five tables referenced in the main paper and shows the search summary, the ENTREQ statement, the quality appraisal of the qualitative studies using the Wallace criteria, the Risk of Bias, and illustrative quotations from the primary studies according to analytical themes. This file has two figures referenced in the main paper and shows the thematic network and the metanalyses showing effects of animal assisted intervention on outcomes of depression, anxiety, agitation and quality of life. There are two files, one for the search strategy for MEDLINE and one for PRISMA. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1471-2318 | |
dc.identifier.journal | BMC Geriatrics | en_GB |
dc.relation.ispartof | BMC Geriatrics, 23(1) | |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2023-02-16 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2023-03-25 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2023-03-27T09:46:28Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | VoR | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2023-03-27T09:49:18Z | |
refterms.panel | A | en_GB |
refterms.dateFirstOnline | 2023-03-25 |
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regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this
licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.