HABRI Central

Purpose: This research was to develop and to evaluate a canine animal assisted therapy program in Taiwan.

Methods: Based on the concept of animal assisted therapy (AAT), this program included two stages. Based on a quasi-experimental research design, 58 elder residents with dementia in nursing homes participated in this program. Participants were divided into experimental (E group) and control group (C group) equally. 16 times of designed 'Therapeutic Dog' program was applied into E group, while regular living activity was applied into C group, during two months. The Multidimensional Observation Scale of Elderly Subjects (MOSES), Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) and the individual therapeutic goal (ITG) were used for evaluating the effectiveness of this program.

Results: The results reveal: 1) both groups had improvement in MOSES and CMAI, but no statistical significant; 2) E group had significantly improvement in the individual therapeutic goal fields of oral expression, movement, memory and socialization; 3) the best improvement held in the field of 'socialization', especially 'keeping focusing on an activity' (p<.0001), while the improvement of 'oral expression' was the second, especially 'focusing on the same topic' (p<.0001).

Conclusion: The canine AAT activities have significant benefits for dementia elders on the fields of oral expression, movement, memory and socialization, especially on keeping longer focusing on an activity, and reducing repeated negative behaviors.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

1. Animal-assisted activities
2. Animal-assisted therapies
3. Animal roles
4. Animals in culture
5. Behavior and behavior mechanisms
6. Dementia
7. Dogs
8. Health
9. Long Term Care
10. Mammals
11. Nursing homes
12. Pet ownership
13. Pets and companion animals
14. Service animals
15. Taiwan