Health Benefits of Animals: Seniors

This web site section is made possible by a grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Older man with a catAbstracts

  1. Pets and the Health of Older People. J. McNicholas, G. M. Collis - New! on July 12, 2006
  2. Influence of Companion Animals on the Physical and Psychological Health of Older People: An Analysis of a One-Year Longitudinal Study. P. Raina, D. Waltner-Toews, B. Bonnett, C. Woodward, and T. Abernathy.
  3. Relationship Between Pet Ownership and Healthcare Use Among Seniors. P. Raina, B. Bonnett, and D. Waltner-Toews.
  4. Pet Ownership May be a Factor in Improved Health of the Elderly. D. Dembicki and J. Anderson.
  5. The Impact of Pet Ownership on the Functional Transitions Among Elderly. P Raina, D. Waltner-Toews, and B. Bonnett.
  6. The Relationship of Loneliness and Stress to Human-Animal Attachment in the Elderly. C. Keil and B. Barba.
  7. The Role of Pet Dogs in Casual Conversations of Elderly Adults. J. Rogers, L.A. Hart, and R.P. Boltz.

Articles

  1. Companion Animals in the lives of Persons with Alzheimer's Disease.
  2. For Seniors: Pets Are Just Plain Healthy.
  3. The following articles are available for download in RTF format. Some articles have figures in GIF format, which will open in your browser. Click on the article or figure name to save the file to your computer or to a disk. After you have saved the file, open the article in a word processor to read or print the article or open the figure in a paint or other program to view or print the figure.
  4. The Role of Pets in Enhancing Human Well-Being: Effects for Older People. Lynette A. Hart (69K, RTF).
    [Download figures: Figure 3.1 (23K, GIF), Figure 3.2 (16K, GIF), Figure 3.3 (23K, GIF), Figure 3.4 (29K, GIF), Figure 3.5 (26K, GIF), Figure 3.7 (27K, GIF).]
    [Reprinted from The Waltham Book of Human-Animal Interactions: Benefits and Responsibilities. Courtesy of Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition.]
  5. Effects of Watching Aquariums on Elders' Stress. Mary M. DeSchriver and Carol Cutler Riddick (40K, RTF).
  6. Stressful Life Events and Use of Physician Services Among the Elderly. Judith M. Siegel (59K, RTF).
  7. Pet Ownership and Attachment as Supportive Factors in the Health of the Elderly. Thomas F. Garrity, et al (77K, RTF).

Other Web Sites of Interest

  1. Aging Parents and Elder Care