Relationship Between Pet Ownership and Healthcare Use Among Seniors. P. Raina, Ph.D. & Waltham Fellow, Health Care & Epidemiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6H 3V4); B. Bonnett, Ph.D. and D. Waltner-Toews, Ph.D.,Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N7S 0W5. 1998. (Presented at the 8th International Conference on Human-Animal Interactions, The Changing Roles of Animals in Society, September 10-12, 1998, Prague.)

As the population of seniors (65+) in developed countries increases, there is growing concern about health care for members of this age group who suffer from multiple chronic conditions. In Canada, seniors incur 40% of the costs of health care services annually. Research has shown that factors other than medical needs influence the decision to use health care services. The purpose of this study was to examine whether pet ownership was associated with lower use of health care, and whether the relationship between human social support and health care use was modified by the presence or absence of a companion animal. A random sample of non-institutionalized seniors was selected. Each participant was interviewed twice, first at the beginning of the study (n=1,054) and again at the end of a one-year follow-up (n=995).

The questionnaire collected information on demographic, pet ownership, social support, physical health and psychological well-being. Pet owners were operationalized as dog or cat owners. Each participants interview data were electronically linked with Ontario Health Insurance Plan's (OHIP) medicare and hospital databases. Thirty-six of the 286 (13%) pet owners lost their pet over the l-year interval. None of the non-pet owners acquired a pet during the follow-up period. Pet owners were younger, currently married or living with someone, and more physically active than non-pet owners. Univariate analysis of the medicare data showed that on average pet owners had 30 encounters with the health care system whereas non-pet owners on average had 37 encounters (t-test=2.20, p=0.028). The average cost incurred by a pet owner ($530.00) was significantly lower (t-test=2.70, p=0.006) than by a non-pet owner ($694.00).

In a multiple regression analysis, the number of services received was not significantly different (t=1.396, p=0.l63) between pet owners and non-pet owners. Univanate analysis of number of hospitalizations showed no statistically significant difference between pet owners and non-pet owners. However, pet owners on average had shorter length hospital stays (8.0 days) than non-pet owners (13 days); this difference was statistically significant (t=-2.05, p=0.042). This relationship also remained significant in a multiple regression analysis (t=2.46, p=0.0 137). When the modifying effect of pet ownership status and overall health care use was examined, the interaction between non-family social support and pet ownership was statistically significant (t=2.16, p=0.020).

In conclusion, the results of this study provide evidence that pet ownership serves as an important coping resource to seniors, which in turn enables them to deal with stressful life events without resorting to entering the health care system.