The Effect of Animal Assisted Activity to Elderly

There is a global increase in the elderly population day by day. Biopsychosocial regressions and various health problems are seen in the elderly, and their care and follow-up are mostly carried out in nursing homes. It is stated that the elderly individuals living in the nursing home see the institution related to the institution they stay as an area for making friends and socializing with their peers, but the elderly individuals staying in these institutions experience various limitations. If the elderly individual's assessment of his life is positive, self-compassion is achieved, if it is negative, he falls into despair, depressive mood and loneliness symptoms can be seen. Various psychosocial interventions are recommended for elderly individuals within the scope of protecting and improving mental health. One of the interventions that can be done is animal-supported activities that provide human-animal interaction. Studies conducted in our country with animal-supported activities are very limited, and they have mostly been studied with children. In the international literature, although there are various studies within the scope of animal-supported activities, the number of studies evaluating the effect of interaction with fish is very limited, and studies with fish interaction have been recommended by various researchers. This study is unique because it is the first study in our country to evaluate the effects of animal-assisted practices on the psychosocial health of elderly individuals living in nursing homes.

Inclusion Criteria:Being 60 years or olderDo not speak TurkishContinuing hospitalization in the specified institution,Volunteering to participate in the studyExclusion Criteria:Having a barrier to communication,Having a diagnosis of any mental disorder,Having a physical, auditory, visual and cognitive disability that will prevent the goldfish in the aquarium from feeding (feeding) twice daily, within the scope of the study,Being allergic to fish and fish food,Fear of goldfish to be used in the study