Resident Dog in the Alzheimer’s Special Care Unit

Behavioral disturbances are a common feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Prior studies have demonstrated a significant reduction in agitation behaviors during short-term exposure to a dog on an Alzheimer’s special care unit (SCU) for persons with AD. The purpose of this study was to determine the e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Western journal of nursing research 2002-10, Vol.24 (6), p.684-696
Main Authors: McCabe, Barbara W., Baun, Mara M., Speich, Denise, Agrawal, Sangeeta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alzheimer Disease - psychology
Alzheimer Disease - therapy
Alzheimer's disease
Animal assisted therapy
Animals
Behavior modification
Behavioural problems
Bonding, Human-Pet
Clinical Nursing Research
Dogs
Elderly people
Hospital Units
Humans
Nursing
Nursing homes
Reduction
Residents
Special care units
Therapy
USA
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Summary:Behavioral disturbances are a common feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Prior studies have demonstrated a significant reduction in agitation behaviors during short-term exposure to a dog on an Alzheimer’s special care unit (SCU) for persons with AD. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect over time of a resident dog on problem behaviors of persons with AD in an SCU. A within-participants repeated-measures design was used for this study. The Nursing Home Behavior Problem Scale was used to document behaviors (on days and evenings) 1 week before and 4 weeks after placement of the dog. Participants on the dayshift exhibited significantly fewer problem behaviors across the 4 weeks of the study (F[1, 80] = 7.69, p < .05). No significant change in behaviors occurred on the evening shift. The findings support the long-term therapeutic effects of dogs for persons residing in Alzheimer’s SCUs.
ISSN:0193-9459
1552-8456
DOI:10.1177/019394502320555421