Effect of “resident cats” on the health and social network of older adults with Alzheimer's or disabilities in nursing homes
Effet des « chats résidents » sur la santé et le réseau social des personnes âgées atteintes de la maladie d’Alzheimer ou handicapées dans les maisons de soins infirmiers
Résumé
Introduction: Presence of pets has positive effects on the health of older adults, such as reducing feelings of loneliness and increasing social interactions. This study describes the effects of the permanent presence of cats on the health of older people and on their social network (number of personal relationships a person maintains). This pioneering study is based on an analysis of the measured, non-subjective social network of residents, caregivers and their cat(s) in the Alzheimer's (ADU) and Disability (DISU) units of a French nursing home.
Methodology: 53 residents (mean age = 79.6 years) and 36 caregivers living in one ADU (without cat), two ADU (with one cat) and DISU (with two cats) were observed using ethological methods over 180 hours. General activity, areas frequented by the cat, and social interactions of residents and caregivers with the cat were continuously recorded (focal sampling). Physical proximity (in contact, nearby, talking to, looking at) between residents, caregivers and the cat was recorded every 10 minutes to create social networks (300 records/individual).
Results: ADU cats spent more time in residents' bedrooms (χ² = 83.62; df = 3; p < 0.001) than the living room (χ² = 43.88; df = 3; p < 0.001) than cats in the DISU. Visualization of the social networks illustrated that cats were placed at network’s periphery and interacted in a privileged way with certain residents. Finally, caregivers with a high degree of contact with the cat showed a greater number of social interactions in their unit (R² = 0.41; F = 24.88; p = 0.001).
Principal Conclusions and Implications for Field: Cats seem to adapt their behaviors to the disease context of the units by occupying the space differently and interact in a privileged way with certain residents and play the indirect role of "social lubricant" with caregivers.