Home Health & Hospice Week
Animal Therapy Helpful For Dementia Patients, New Study Shows
A new study suggests your patients may benefit from interaction with animals. Therapy animals help to ease aggression and depression in nursing home residents suffering from dementia, according to a study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
The researchers studied 65 nursing home residents with dementia who were assigned Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) as part of their treatment over the course of 10 weekly sessions. Using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory and the Dementia Mood Assessment Scale, the researchers determined a baseline of aggression and depression symptoms among the participating residents.
Compared to tests performed at the end of the 10-week period, the residents who received the AAT had steady, unchanged frequency and severity of aggression and depression symptoms. The control group not receiving AAT, experienced significantly increased agitation/aggression and depression.
"AAT is a promising option for the treatment of agitation/aggression and depression in patients with dementia," the study states. "AAT may delay progression of neuropsychiatric symptoms in demented nursing home residents." But more research is necessary to determine the long-term effects of AAT on dementia, the researchers say. v
Home Health & Hospice Week
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Animal Therapy Helpful For Dementia Patients, New Study Shows
A new study suggests your patients may benefit from interaction with animals. Therapy animals help [...]
