Benefits of Dog-Assisted Therapy in Patients with Dementia Residing in Aged Care Centers in Spain

Eva Vegue Parra, Jose Manuel Hernández Garre and Paloma Echevarría Pérez
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Eva Vegue Parra: Health Sciences PhD Program, Campus de los Jerónimos nº135, Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM), Guadalupe, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Jose Manuel Hernández Garre: Department of Political Sciences, Social Anthropology and Public Finance, Calle Campus Universitario, University of Murcia, s/n, El Puntal, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Paloma Echevarría Pérez: Health Sciences PhD Program, Campus de los Jerónimos nº135, Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM), Guadalupe, 30107 Murcia, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: (1) Background: Currently, the scientific evidence on the benefits of assisted therapy with dogs in dementia is not clear. In this study, we want to evaluate such benefits through a randomized controlled clinical trial in multiple centers across the country. (2) Methods: The participants were people over 65 years old with dementia, residing in senior centers in Spain ( n = 334). The experimental group underwent assisted therapy with dogs based on the Comprehensive Cognitive Activation Program in Dementia, for 8 months, with weekly sessions of 45 min. Data were collected at the commencement, middle, and end of the program, to evaluate the aspects using the Mini-Examination Cognitive, the modified Bartell Index, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. (3) Results: The results show significant improvements in the experimental group versus the control group in the affective (T1 = p 0.000; T2 = p 0.000) and behavioral (T1 = p 0.005; T2 = p 0.000) aspects, with the affective aspect displaying greater progress in participants with additional depressive ( p = 0.022) or anxiety ( p = 0.000) disorders, shorter institutionalization periods (r = ?0.222, p = 0.004), and those undergoing complementary psychotherapy ( p = 0.033) or alternative therapy ( p = 0.011). (4) Conclusions: Dog therapy is effective in improving the affective and behavioral aspects of institutionalized patients with dementia.

Keywords: dog-assisted therapy; care centers; dementia; neurocognitive disorder; Alzheimer’s (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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