Scientists from Mars conducted a study of the effects of therapy dogs on patients aged 59 and older who were hospitalized for more than five days. The results of the experiment showed, that daily 20-minute sessions with therapy dogs over three days significantly reduced loneliness among participants.
In particular, the researchers recorded a significant decrease in the level of loneliness according to the UCLA Short Form scale (p = 0.033) and the analogue scale of loneliness (p = 0.004). Importantly, such interactions were significantly more effective than usual care or conversations with staff.
Interestingly, the dog owners who participated in the study showed an even greater positive effect. This may be due to the dogs partially compensating for emotional deficits caused by separation from pets during hospitalization. Even brief interactions with therapy dogs provided important physical contact that is usually lacking in hospital settings.
However, the researchers noted that the effect of such therapy was temporary. 1 and 6 months after the end of the sessions, the level of loneliness returned to previous indicators. This suggests the need for regular and longer sessions with therapy dogs to achieve long-term improvement in the emotional state of patients.
