According to HealthDay, the research shows that patients with acute mental illness felt less lonely after visits from a therapy dog.
The group that met both the dog and its handler experienced the greatest improvement.
The study has been published in Frontiers in Psychiatry and is described in a press release from Virginia Commonwealth University.
In the release, lead researcher Nancy Gee states that a therapy dog immediately reduces loneliness in a way that other interactions cannot.
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There appears to be something special about the dog’s presence itself.
Loneliness and health
The background for the study is that loneliness can have serious consequences.
According to the researchers, loneliness is associated with conditions such as heart disease, dementia, depression, and premature death.
In the press release, Nancy Gee says that loneliness is comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
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Longer hospital stays may, for some patients, intensify feelings of isolation, especially among people with mental disorders.
How the study was conducted
The study included 60 patients. They were divided into three groups: one received visits from a therapy dog and a handler, one received visits only from the handler, and one received standard treatment.
The visits lasted 20 minutes per day over three days. Patients completed questionnaires before and after the intervention.
All groups reported reduced loneliness, but the decline was greatest among those who had been visited by a dog.
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However, the researchers note that further studies are needed in this area.
Sources: HealthDay, Frontiers in Psychiatry, and Virginia Commonwealth University.
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