60-ties ir vyresnio amžiaus pacientų nuomonė apie kaniterapijos psichosocialinį poveikį savijautai /

Aušrinė Čerškutė. Bachelor's final thesis: "The opinion of patients aged 60 and older about the psychosocial impact of canine therapy on well-being." Supervisor: lecturer Violeta Nomeikienė. Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Vilnius, 2024, 44 pages. Introduction. Due to the aging of the world, with the increase in the number of patients living in nursing homes, it becomes important to ensure the improvement of the psychosocial condition of these people. Canine therapy could be used as a non-pharmacological alternative to improve the psychosocial condition of patients. The aim of the research work: to investigate the opinion of patients aged 60 and older about the psychosocial impact of canine therapy on well-being. Research tasks: 1. Investigate patient expectations before canitherapy sessions. 2. To investigate the psychosocial experiences of patients in canine therapy sessions. 3. To investigate patient satisfaction with canine therapy sessions. Research method. A qualitative study was conducted using a semi-structured interview consisting of questions related to the research objectives. The information saturation method was applied to the research sample, 8 respondents were interviewed. Respondents' answers were analyzed by distinguishing categories and subcategories. Results. Before canitherapy sessions, patients hope that their sociability will be increased, or their everyday life will be diversified. Patients' psychological experiences in canine therapy are characterized by the following emotions: improvement of mood, feeling of peace, admiration, and regret. When describing social experiences in canine therapy, patients distinguish communication with the dog and handler, conversations with relatives and between patients. The patients mentioned that they encountered the following challenges during canine therapy: the size of the dog, unsuitable environmental conditions, lack of individual attention, they had to leave the session earlier. Respondents expressed their satisfaction with canine therapy by giving positive feedback about the session, recommending it to others, eagerly waiting for the next one. The main factors determining satisfaction with the sessions were: the appearance of the dog and the tricks performed, the bond established and physical contact with the dog. Conclusions: Patients' expectations before canine therapy are related to increasing sociality and diversifying daily life. Patients' experiences show that canine therapy has a positive effect on the psychosocial condition of elderly patients, despite the challenges that arise during the session. According to the respondents, canitherapy sessions give them satisfaction, and the factors determining it are related to the activities performed by the dog. Key words: elderly, patients, opinion, canine therapy, psychosocial effect.

Grantor dc:publisher

Institutional Repository of Vilnius University

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Čerškutė, Aušrinė,

Statement dc:rights

• info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Language dc:language

lit

Repository record dc:identifier

https://repository.vu.lt/VU:ELABAETD210579985&prefLang=en_US

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vu.lt:elaba:210579985