| Popis: |
This thesis, which is titled "Application of feline therapy in retirement homes", deals with the application of therapy with the help of a cat in clients of retirement homes and the impact of this therapy on the quality of their lives. The aim of this thesis is to find out how much the clients' quality of life changed over the period of one year of regular feline therapy. The thesis consists of two parts; a theoretical and a practical one. The theoretical part is divided into four sections. The first one is focused on zootherapy. It offers basic information on zootherapy such as its division, forms and application. A sole focus on feline therapy follows. The first half of the section on feline therapy concentrates on general information on feline therapy and its impact on people. The second half deals with its practical aspects. Here It explains what kind of cats are suitable for feline therapy and give basic information on breeds most often used for feline therapy. Then follows an introduction of programmes and organizations of feline therapy in the Czech Republic. Some foreign organizations working in feline therapy are presented at the end of this section. The second section deals with the issue of age and ageing. It explains changes occurring during the ageing process of the human organism at all levels of personality followed by the description of seniors' needs. It also studies seniors' quality of life and the possibilities of research into it. The final part is focused on housing service for seniors. First the history of housing services and their current division in the Czech Republic are described. As the research was carried out in a retirement home, this institution is described more thoroughly. Since quality is an important element of a well-functioning facility, inspection of quality of these facilities is mentioned in this section too. Housing services are obliged to create an individual plan for each client and since feline therapy is often used as part of such plans the final part examines this issue in greater detail too. The qualitative research was chosen as a tool for this thesis. The research focuses on the quality of life of senior housing clients. The main tools of the research were a semi-structured interview and observation of the clients. A semi-structured interview with the staff of Pisek Retirement Home who are often in contact with these clients was used as an additional research. Feline therapy does not only help the clients of the facility but it also affects the staff and other members of the team. That is why It asked a few questions about the effect of feline therapy on the employees of the facility. The results of the research showed that feline therapy improves mainly the clients' mental state. Positive changes in mood as well as a positive view of the clients' future were noticeable. Feline therapy also improves the clients' physical state although not as significantly as the mental state. It is used as an element of support during physiotherapy or to motivate clients' exercise. The results are noticeable mainly in fine motor skills of hands. The research between the employees shows that feline therapy does not significantly improve the atmosphere in the workplace and is beneficial to individuals rather than the whole team. On the other hand the therapy helps the staff in working with the clients who are in a better mood, communicate better and thus cooperate more willingly. This thesis can be used as a methodical aid for beginners among professionals interested in feline therapy. The results of this thesis can be used to improve therapeutic activities with cats and the overall progress of feline therapy in the Czech Republic. |
