McLennan Kate, Rock Melanie J, Mattos Emma, Toohey Ann M
Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
O'Brien Institute for Public Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Front Psychol. 2022 Apr 26;13:873372. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.873372. eCollection 2022.
At the convergence of population aging and pet-ownership, community stakeholders are well-positioned to support older adults' relationships with companion animals through age-related transitions in health and living arrangements. In this study's setting, a volunteer-based pet care assistance program launched in 2017 to provide practical assistance with pet care for socially disadvantaged, community-dwelling older adults. This case study explored the impacts and feasibility of this and similar programs via (i) an Internet-based environmental scan to compare similar programs and (ii) qualitative interviews with a sampling of diverse community stakeholders ( = 9). A small number of comparable international programs ( = 16) were found. Among these, programs were delivered using a range of funding models; fewer than half involved collaborations across human social services and animal welfare sectors; and none addressed all dimensions of support offered by our local program. Analysis of qualitative interviews highlighted five major themes confirming the value of the volunteer-based approach and the importance of cross-sectoral collaborations in addressing older adults' under-recognized pet care-related needs. Taken together, the findings confirmed the effectiveness of our local program model. Collaborative, cross-sectoral programs that target both human and companion animal well-being hold promise to reduce barriers to pet ownership that many disadvantaged older adults face. This unique approach leverages the health-promoting potential of human-animal relationships in ways that enhance quality of life for individuals, animal welfare, and age-friendliness of communities.
在人口老龄化和养宠物现象日益普遍的背景下，社区利益相关者能够通过与健康和生活安排相关的年龄过渡，支持老年人与伴侣动物之间的关系。在本研究的背景下，2017年启动了一项基于志愿者的宠物护理援助计划，为社会弱势、居住在社区的老年人提供宠物护理方面的实际帮助。本案例研究通过以下方式探讨了该计划及类似计划的影响和可行性：（i）基于互联网的环境扫描，以比较类似计划；（ii）对不同社区利益相关者样本（n = 9）进行定性访谈。发现了少量可比较的国际计划（n = 16）。在这些计划中，采用了一系列资金模式；不到一半的计划涉及人类社会服务和动物福利部门之间的合作；而且没有一个计划涵盖我们当地计划所提供的所有支持维度。定性访谈分析突出了五个主要主题，证实了基于志愿者的方法的价值以及跨部门合作在满足老年人未得到充分认识的与宠物护理相关需求方面的重要性。综合来看，研究结果证实了我们当地计划模式的有效性。以人类和伴侣动物福祉为目标的协作性跨部门计划有望减少许多弱势老年人在养宠物方面面临的障碍。这种独特的方法以提升个人生活质量、动物福利和社区对老年人友好程度的方式，利用了人宠关系促进健康的潜力。
