The Significance of Pets for Vulnerable Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Explorative Qualitative Study.

Autor: Reniers PWA; Faculty of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands., Leontjevas R; Faculty of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands.; Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc Alzheimer Center, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands., Declercq IJN; Faculty of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands.; Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc Alzheimer Center, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands., Enders-Slegers MJ; Faculty of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands., Gerritsen DL; Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc Alzheimer Center, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands., Hediger K; Faculty of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands.; Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, 4055 Basel, Switzerland.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI [Animals (Basel)] 2022 Oct 13; Vol. 12 (20). Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Oct 13.
DOI: 10.3390/ani12202752
Abstrakt: Older adults receiving long-term care at home (LTCH-clients) were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its countermeasures. Previous research suggests that pets can mitigate some of the pandemic's impacts for older adults but results are contradictory. Our aim was to investigate experiences of LTCH-clients and the significance of their pets during the pandemic. Accounting for saturation, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five LTCH-clients and four family caregivers of LTCH-clients with dementia. Participants were asked about their experiences with COVID-19 and the significance of LTCH-clients' pets during the pandemic. Two researchers performed thematic analyses in ATLAS.ti using open coding and an iterative-inductive approach. All participants reported negative experiences as a result of COVID-19 countermeasures. Results suggested that caring for pets provided pet owners with structure, which may have contributed to a sense of stability and continuity. Our outcomes underlined an important role of pets for LTCH-clients both before and during the pandemic.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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