A critical look at the potential role of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) Programs for Institutionalized Geriatric Patients.

Aging is characterized by a progressive loss of the ability to cope with external challenges, leading to a condition of frailty, which can precipitate aging-associated pathologies. Since life expectancy in the 20th century has greatly increased, developing specific programs aimed at fostering healthy life styles in old age will become increasingly important over the next decades. Moreover institutionalization can have serious implications for the well being of elderly people as a result of the stress and loneliness due to separation from the home environment, with a consequent decline in physical and emotional health. Since depression and apathy are almost ubiquitous symptoms in nursing home patients, an important challenge is to devise low-cost and effective interventions that can reduce stress and apathy in institutionalized elderly by stimulating social responsiveness and physical activity. The recognition of the importance of the human–animal bond has led to the proliferation of programs, also known in general terms as Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI), designed to improve the lives of geriatric patients. We review the growing literature emphasizing the use of visiting dogs as an innovative tool to ameliorate psychological conditions of institutionalized geriatric patients. The analysis of a conspicuous body of literature shows the ability of dogs to improve communication, reduce loneliness as well as symptoms linked to depression. In addition, recent evidence on physiological indicators of stress, such as cortisol levels, suggest that such interaction can also result in a reduction of the apathetic state by means of an increase in arousal level as a result of activities involving dogs. Notwithstanding such evidence, further research to substantiate the potential beneficial effects of dog-mediated intervention programs for geriatric patients is needed.