Effects of Animal Assisted Therapy on Elderly Quality of Life

Systematic Review

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) on elderly quality of life through a systematic review. Articles were searched by two judges at Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, and Web of Science. This research was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. After the criteria for inclusion and exclusion were applied, eight articles were selected and analyzed. The majority of studies found that AAT has positive effects on quality of life by the elderly, and different instruments were used for such evaluation. Finally, it can be concluded that AAT improves the quality of life among the elderly.