Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations.
The purpose of this project is to analyze the experience of participants in the Pet Pals Program using portraiture methodology. The Pet Pals Program introduces volunteers and their pets to individuals in early memory support. The portraitures demonstrate the importance of relational connections between previously separated levels of care and the value volunteers place on their participation in the program.
Primary Author and Speaker: Kelsey Odell, Mesa
Additional Authors and Speakers: Aaron Bonsall, Jessica Meyer
PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is to analyze the experience of participants in the Pet Pals Program using portraiture methodology. The Pet Pals Program provides educational and teaching concepts to volunteers and their pets to provide friendly pet visits to those in the memory support units. The program emphasizes the benefits of community engagement and purposeful occupations for the volunteers. Dementia is a neurocognitive disorder that affects cognition and memory. As the disease progresses community engagement and socialization decrease (Schaber, 2019). Animal assisted therapy has been used to enhance motivation for participation, behavioral and psychosocial regulation, and physical and cognitive functions in individuals with dementia (Cipriani, Cooper, DiGiovanni, Litchkofski, Nichols, & Ramsey, 2013). Through the Pet Pals Program, animal assisted therapy was used to encourage participation and interaction between older adult residents of independent living (IL) and a memory support unit. This study looks at the experiences of the participants in IL who volunteered their time and pets.
DESIGN: This project uses qualitative methodology to examine the experiences of volunteers in the Pet Pals Program, a program developed as part of the primary researchers Doctoral Capstone project. The Pet Pals Program consisted of creating a manualized intervention and program implementation phases. In this program volunteers in IL and their dogs visited residents in early memory support. Volunteers recruited from an older adult IL setting had to have a friendly, well-behaved dog in order to go on pet visits and participate in the program. Residential participants in the study resided in the memory care unit, had a diagnosis of mild to moderate dementia, and were deemed appropriate for the project by exhibiting an interest in spending time with dogs without signs of fear of agitation.
METHOD: A post-survey interview using open ended questions was created to examine the experience of the IL resident volunteer. Portraiture narratives were developed using survey data and observations by the primary researcher with input from other researchers experienced in qualitative research. Portraiture is a method to organize qualitative findings and paints a picture through words to capture and describe human experience (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997). This form of narrative analysis gives a sense of importance and meaningful experience that is captured within context and through the lens of the person.
RESULTS: Portraitures created for the three volunteers included descriptions of participating in the Pet Pals Program. The importance of the experience was that it reconnected residents who had a relationship before the program and gave the volunteers a greater sense of purpose. Limitations to connecting and participating together were also identified. The portraitures also describe the meaningful role and value the program provided for the volunteers.
CONCLUSION: The Pet Pals Program offers another method of engagement in meaningful activities and the formation of relationships to enable better health outcomes for individuals living in a residential community. Dogs were used as an ice breaker to promote interactions between residential volunteers and participants. This program demonstrates a unique avenue for improvement in the areas of social participation that can be considered by Occupational Therapists or other professionals.
References
Schaber, P. (2019). Neurocognitive Disorders (Dementia). In Occupational Therapy in Mental Health A Vision for Participation (2nd ed., pp. 250-263). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
Cipraiani, J., Cooper, M., DiGiovanni, N.M., Litchkofski, A., Nichols, A.L., and Ramsey, A. (2013). Dog-assisted therapy for residents of long-term care facilities: An evidence-based review with implications for occupational therapy. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 31(3), 214–240. https://doi-org.p.atsu.edu/10.3109/02703181.2013.816404
