AUTHOR=Sánchez-Valdeón Leticia , Fernández-Martínez Elena , Loma-Ramos Sara , López-Alonso Ana Isabel , Bayón Darkistade Enrique , Ladera Valentina 

TITLE=Canine-Assisted Therapy and Quality of Life in People With Alzheimer-Type Dementia: Pilot Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01332

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01332

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>With the aim of improving the quality of life of people with Alzheimer’s disease, primarily as regards behavioral and psychological symptoms, we implemented canine-assisted therapy in a group of people with this disease.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>We conducted a quasi-experimental study, with a simple pre-post case series design. Participants comprised 10 Alzheimer’s day care center users presenting severe or very severe cognitive decline. The measurement instrument employed was the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia (QUALID) scale.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>By the end of the therapy, 100% of participants showed an improvement in physical, behavioral, and psychological aspects. The total scores of the QUALID scale for the three different evaluation times (before the therapy and 6 and 12 months after starting) after the canine-assisted therapy intervention were smaller and less dispersed. The total score for the QUALID scale decreased significantly (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05) at 6 and 12 months after starting therapy. An analysis by item revealed that the scores of all of them fell during the course of the therapy.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>Our study provides evidence of the significant benefits of canine-assisted therapy for quality of life in people with Alzheimer’s disease.</p></sec>