<p> Anxiety and behavior disturbances are a significant problem for geriatric residents living in a facility. Currently treatment for these symptoms is pharmacological. While medications are necessary in some cases, significant uncomfortable side effects can result. The availability of effective treatments that are non-pharmacological allows nurses to offer an alternative option for these symptoms. The purpose of this project was to investigate animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and the effects this therapy has on anxiety and behavioral symptoms for geriatric patients living in a facility. A four week study was conducted with adult subjects age 55-85 who were diagnosed with anxiety or behavior symptoms and live in a facility. A dog was utilized for the therapy. Evidence suggests the effectiveness of AAT for a multitude of disease states and medical conditions. Use of ATT in this study revealed several behavioral changes for individual participants.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10239719 |
| Date | 12 March 2017 |
| Creators | Hudson, Nancy J. |
| Publisher | Northern Kentucky University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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