Kårefjärd Ann, Nordgren Lena
a ReHabenheten , Vård-och omsorgsförvaltningen , Eskilstuna , Sweden.
b Centre for Research and Development , Sörmland County Council, Centre for Clinical Research Sörmland, Uppsala University , Uppsala , Sweden.
Scand J Occup Ther. 2019 Oct;26(6):433-440. doi: 10.1080/11038128.2018.1467486. Epub 2018 Apr 25.
People with dementia often have a poor quality of life. Therefore, methods that can improve their life situation must be identified. One promising method is dog-assisted intervention.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of dog-assisted intervention on quality of life in nursing home residents with dementia.
A one-group, pretest post-test study design was used. Quality of life was measured using the QUALID in 59 nursing home residents prior to and after a dog-assisted intervention. Non-parametric tests were used to analyze the data, and effect sizes were calculated.
The participants' total scores improved significantly between baseline and post-test 1 (p = < 0.001) and worsened significantly at post-test 2 (p = 0.025). The largest effect size was found for the item 'Verbalization suggests discomfort' (p = 0.001).
The results indicate that dog-assisted interventions can have positive effects on quality of life in nursing home residents with moderate to severe dementia.
The results contribute to a growing knowledge base about non-pharmacological methods that can be used in dementia care. Occupational therapists should consider dog-assisted interventions when planning activities that can reduce the illness burden and improve the quality of life for people with dementia.
痴呆症患者的生活质量往往较差。因此，必须找到能够改善他们生活状况的方法。一种有前景的方法是犬辅助干预。
本研究旨在调查犬辅助干预对养老院痴呆症患者生活质量的影响。
采用单组前后测研究设计。在犬辅助干预前后，使用生活质量综合评定问卷对59名养老院居民的生活质量进行测量。采用非参数检验分析数据，并计算效应量。
参与者的总分在基线和后测1之间显著提高（p = < 0.001），在后测2时显著恶化（p = 0.025）。在“言语表达显示不适”这一项目上发现了最大的效应量（p = 0.001）。
结果表明，犬辅助干预对中重度痴呆症养老院居民的生活质量有积极影响。
这些结果有助于增加关于可用于痴呆症护理的非药物方法的知识库。职业治疗师在规划能够减轻痴呆症患者疾病负担并提高其生活质量的活动时，应考虑犬辅助干预。
