Human and Animal Interrelation
Should elderly care facilities be required to allow the residents to keep pets
Introduction
When older people are kept in elderly care facilities, they suffer from loneliness, lack of social networks and poor self-esteem. They also lack autonomy since they do not have the freedom to make choices and activities. Lack of freedom, lack of privacy, lack of purpose in life and negative relations are some of the challenges that older people experience while they are in the care facility. Some of the older people previously used pets for companion and they desire the fond memories. When they enter a long-care facility where they lake social interaction with pets, they increase the level of stress and suffer from depression. However, research has shown that these challenges can be dealt with by the use of companion animals. The latter plays a significant role in minimizing loneliness, improving social attractiveness, develops relationships through verbal communication with each other and improves quality of life. Since the majority of older people suffer from loneliness due to the loss of loved ones and lack of family affection, companion animals increase the capacity for building relationships. Various recent researches have shown that companion animals bring a positive difference to the health of older people since they prevent ill-health, facilitates recovery, promotes psychological health and reduces depression and loneliness. However, opponents of the animal companion or animal-assisted therapy employ the liberationist perspective to argue that elder care facilities should not be allowed to use pets as companions because they are denied a quality life. Their main argument is based on the lack of freedom but the research paper will focus on both sides and come up with a conclusion to support or refute human and animal interrelationships. This is a debatable issue that requires an extensive research and after conducting the research and weighing both sides, the hypothesis that has been supported by the research is that elderly care facilities should be allowed to keep pets.
Le Roux & Kemp (2009) open the debate and supports the thesis by arguing that elderly care facilities should be allowed to keep pets since animal-assisted therapy reduces the level of depression to the older people who are in the long-term care facilities. The authors describe animals and in specific dogs as preventers of ill-health, predictors of ill-health and they also play role in promoting the patients' psychological health and reduction of stress, depression, and loneliness (Le Roux & Kemp, 2009). In other words, dogs play a therapeutic role not only in elder care facilities but also in all setting. For example, John Locke reported in 1699 that dogs play a significant role in providing children with tender feeling. Florence Night reported in 1880 that animals act as companions and assist the patients in recovery. Other authors have supported the use of animals in long-term care facilities to help both children and adults recover from physical and mental ailments. According to Roux & Kemp (2017), animal-assisted therapy is a kind of intervention where experts and professionals in care facilities involve animals in the process of treatments. While using the animals, the professionals set achievable goals toward reducing depression, loneliness and improving the quality of life. The author affirms that pets do not only provide personal benefits such as reducing stress and anxiety but they also provide benefits such as socialization and interaction among people (Le Roux & Kemp, 2009).The article does not support the thesis theoretically but the authors conduct they use 16 residents aged 65 who are in a long-term care facility and who receives animal assisted therapy once per week. The purpose of the study was to find out if dogs assist the older people in the long-term care facility to reduce depression and anxiety. The authors received positive feedback from the participants since they reported that they enjoyed social interaction and some participants experienced pleasant memories since they could remember their dogs back at home (Le Roux & Kemp, 2009). Through social interaction and pleasant memories, older people were able to manage loneliness, anxiety, and depression.
Thodberg et al (2016) were interested in understanding the therapeutic effects of animals in elderly care facilities. Before conducting the study, the authors view the literature on animal-assisted therapy and finds that today, many countries are using animals as companions for the elderly population. Many nursing homes are using animals for therapeutic purposes and in most cases, dogs are more used than any other animal. Staffs in the nursing homes, relatives at home and even the public have confirmed that dogs play a significant role in assisting older people to recover from physical and mental ailments (Thodberg et al, 2016). The interesting thing with the article is that the author did not rely on the literature review but they conducted the study with an aim of providing future initiative the areas of animal-assisted therapy. In conducting the research on animal-assisted therapy, the authors have found that the nursing home population keep people who suffer from impaired cognitive ability and who lack good communication skills. Various recent studies on animal-assisted therapy have reported that animals can help people with cognitive impairment and poor communication through socialization and body language. It is easier for animals to offer body language than human beings since the latter may not have a strong affection toward older people (Thodberg et al, 2016). The authors conducted a study where 124 residents from a nursing home or elderly facilities were involved. The participants could have a 12 biweekly visit with an animal and the observer could observe the interaction and conversation between the patient and the animal. At the end of the study, the authors found that there was a positive change in the first 6 weeks. There was sleep quality among the participants or in other words, they could sleep for long hours (Thodberg et al, 2016). This single positive effect supports the thesis that elderly care facilities should be allowed to use pets since when the older people interact with pets, they gain a better night's sleep. It means that animals treat sleep disorders by providing emotional support thereby help in managing stress and anxiety.
A recent study that was conducted in 2016 by Menna et al (2016) supports the thesis that elderly care facilities should be allowed to use pets. The authors review the literature on animal-assisted therapy and find that in 2012, the total number of people in the whole world who were suffering from Alzheimer's were 36 million and the figure was predicted to rise due to the higher elderly population. Alzheimer's is an illness that is associated with a decline in memory and reasoning. It causes dementia- a condition where a person becomes forgetful, lacks communication ability, loses memory and is unable to perform daily activities. The medical research on the syndrome has not found its Aetiology and anticholinesterase drug therapy. Thus, studies are showing effort in researching the cognitive stimulation techniques to manage the syndrome (Menna et al, 2016). The studies have not only come up with contextual therapy but they also have also introduced reality orientation therapy- this involves engaging in a well-structured environment for about 45 minutes in a day where the patients, family and professional interacts. Reality Orientation Therapy (ROT) has been used for many years but it has been associated with few positive results. The reason as to why the intervention has not done well is because, currently, patients with Alzheimer's are suffering from mood and cognitive disorders and these disorders do not only require cognitive therapy but also motivational therapy, emotional and psychological therapy (Menna et al, 2016). The latter therapies are achieved through the use of animal-assisted therapy since the animal will act as an emotional stimulus and improve the patients' moods.
The authors conducted a study to find out whether animal-assisted therapy and ROT is effective for patients with Alzheimer's. The study used 50 patients from the Alzheimer's daycare who has Alzheimer's disease. At the end of the study, the geriatrician used MMSE to measure the cognitive impairment and GDS to measure the depressive symptoms. The result showed that in patients who used ROT, GDS reduced from 11.6 to 10.5 and patients who use animal-assisted therapy reduced the GDS from 11.5 to 9.5 and the control group reduced GDS from 11.5 to 11.0. The MMSE results showed that patients who received animal-assisted therapy improved from 20.2 to 21.5 and patients who received ROT improved from 19.9 to 20.2 and there was no change in the control group (Menna et al, 2016). From the study, it was concluded that there is a significant difference between the use of animal-assisted therapy and ROT in patients with Alzheimer's. The GDS scores or the measure of depressive symptoms reported a significant decrease in depression in patients who used animal-assisted therapy. The MMSE also showed a significant improvement in the cognitive function for the patients who used animal-assisted therapy. Even though both AAT and ROT shows a significant improvement, ATT had a greater improvement. This shows that animal-assisted therapy is a good intervention in improving mood and managing depression (Menna et al, 2016). The study supports the hypothesis that elderly care facilities should use pets to motivate patients and help them manage Alzheimer's disorder. Animal plays a significant role as they provide non-verbal language acts as a stimulus and improve cognition and mood.
Con position
Zamir (2006) is against the use of pet in elderly care facilities. He raises his arguments by employing the liberationist perspective which states that animals should not be exploited. Even though practitioners of animal-assisted therapy say that they do not exploit animals, the liberationist view is that when animals are used in therapeutic purposes, there are high chances that they will be injured, they do not receive the appropriate animal welfare and they do not enjoy visiting. The article uses this view to argue that using an animal for therapeutic purposes is immoral because first, they are denied freedom. Animals' freedom is limited in a way that in the care facilities, they are kept by practitioners meaning that they restricted from deriving pleasure from other animals. Second, practitioners do not value the life of the animals. Animals require proper housing, quality care, and proper social environment. However, when animals are turned to as a companion, their lives are not valued as they are denied the freedom to socialize with conspecifics (Zamir, 2006). Third, therapists who use animals in assisted therapy require training which involves animal violations and some animals are scared when they see human beings. This denies them their social interaction and pleasure. When animals are used for therapeutic purposes, they are forced to live in an unfriendly environment. They are isolated from other animals and they experience a kind of a mystery due to the lack of social needs and animal contact (Zamir, 2006). Author Zamir argues that animals should not be used in elderly care facilities since therapists exploit them in various methods including injuring them, disconnecting them from their habitat and denying them their freedom.
Serpell (2009) supports the argument against animal-assisted therapy by stating that animals benefit human beings by providing food, clothe, psychological support, emotional support, and recreational activities. Despite all these benefits, both those who receive the benefits together with the field of psychology and sociology do not value animals. In other words, they lack intellectual engagement which makes them lack self-awareness and lack the interest in studying the human-animal relations. Thus, the field of social scientists concludes that there is no need to study the interrelationships since the relationships between animals and humans are non-serious and unimportant. However, in the last few centuries, the study of human-animal relationship has grown and it has challenged the psychology and sociology ignorance of conducting the study. Recent studies have introduced the animal-human relationship and its connection to social justice and human social and moral life (Serpell, 2009). The investigations have shown that human has negative attitudes toward animals and these attitude influence animal exploitation. In other words, human believe that they are morally superior to animals and for this reason, they exploit them for selfish motivations. Generally, animals should not be used in elderly care facilities because human hold the negative attitude that influence them toward denying them freedom, value, and proper care.
Conclusion
The modern medical field is using animals in various settings such as nursing homes, hospitals, counseling centers, prisons, and other settings. Animals are used to provide human beings with mental health care and well-being. Today, the elderly population is growing at a faster rate and as people get older they suffer from depression, stress, and dementia. Many countries have incorporated animal-assisted therapy as an intervention method for helping older people lead a normal life. The debatable issue under the use of animals in elderly care facilities is whether these facilities should be allowed to keep pets. Various researches have conducted studies to find out if pets should be allowed or not. Some authors argue that pets should be allowed whereas as others area against the use of pets. The research paper has investigated the issue and by viewing both sides, it has supported the thesis that elderly care facilities should be allowed to keep pets for therapeutic purposes. Pets in elderly care facilities help older people recover from illnesses by promoting their physical and emotional well-being. However, other authors argue that animals are exploited since they are denied freedom, care and social interaction with other animals. However, the benefits outweigh the risks and nursing homes should continue using animal-assisted therapy to assist patients of all ages to recover from illnesses.
References
Le Roux, M. C., & Kemp, R. (2009). Effect of a companion dog on depression and anxiety levels
of elderly residents in a long-term care facility. Psychogeriatrics, 9(1), 23–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1479-8301.2009.00268.x
Menna, L. F., Santaniello, A., Gerardi, F., Di Maggio, A., & Milan, G. (2016). Evaluation of the
efficacy of animal-assisted therapy based on the reality orientation therapy protocol in
Alzheimer’s disease patients: a pilot study. Psychogeriatrics, 16(4), 240–246. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyg.12145
Serpell, J. A. (2009). Having Our Dogs and Eating Them Too: Why Animals Are a Social Issue. Journal of Social Issues, 65(3), 633–644. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2009.01617.x
Thodberg, K., Sørensen, L. U., Christensen, J. W., Poulsen, P. H., Houbak, B., Damgaard, V., …
Videbech, P. B. (2016). Therapeutic effects of dog visits in nursing homes for the
elderly. Psychogeriatrics, 16(5), 289–297. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyg.12159
Zamir, T. (2006). The Moral Basis of Animal-Assisted Therapy. Society & Animals, 14(2), 179–199. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853006776778770
