Animal-Assisted Interventions for Dementia in the Outpatient Clinic Setting: A Feasibility Study

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia are prevalent; however, there are no current interventions to manage these symptoms in the outpatient clinic setting. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) have shown to be acceptable, non-pharmacological methods for symptom management in the clinic setting in other populations but have not been researched in dementia. This mixed-methods study investigated the feasibility and acceptability of an AAI for persons with dementia in the outpatient clinic setting. Data were collected from three groups of participants: (1) persons with dementia; (2) caregivers; and (3) health care providers. Ten persons with dementia engaged in an AAI, interacting with a therapy dog for at least 10 minutes before their appointment with a health care provider in a memory clinic. Persons with dementia and their caregivers completed follow-up Likert scale surveys and semi-structured telephone interviews; health care providers also completed follow-up Likert scale surveys. Telephone interviews were transcribed, and data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Descriptive results indicated that persons with dementia felt comfortable (100%) and happy (88.9%) interacting with therapy dogs. Caregivers also felt comfortable (100%) with the persons with dementia interacting with the therapy dog and reported that the interaction made the persons with dementia happy (90%). Neither persons with dementia, caregivers, nor health care providers reported the interaction as burdensome (100%). Four themes emerged from the qualitative thematic analysis: (1) baseline behaviors and feelings, (2) feelings towards opportunity, (3) positive interaction with dogs, and (4) positive overall experience at doctor appointments. Recruitment strategies were shown to be feasible, and the intervention was deemed safe. Conclusively, this study showed an AAI to be feasible and acceptable in the outpatient clinic setting for persons with dementia. Further research is required to determine the effects of an AAI on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in the outpatient clinic setting.