For me, vacation planning brings with it a bit of anxiety and stress – particularly as we navigate the many uncertainties around COVID-19.
Courtesy Danielle M. Scott
"In my nursing practice, I face many stress-related factors. Interacting with Samson (above) helps relieve that stress," said Danielle M. Scott.
Not only must my husband and I think about our own safety, we also have to make sure that our beloved dog, Samson, gets the proper care while we are away.
My husband adopted Samson, an 11-year-old mixed-breed rescue, when he was just a year old. He’s an important part of our family.
So, when booking our hotel room and flights, we also had to find someone we trust to care for Samson in our absence. Family members are not always an option, so we often rely on pet-sitting apps. We looked through profile after profile, contacted sitters, and interrogated them as if we were looking for care for a tiny human.
Eventually, we found a service that allows owners to use a mobile app that provides updates about how their pets are faring. While we were away, the sitter sent daily photos and videos of Samson that put our minds at ease.
As a registered nurse who works in an ICU, my own anxiety about leaving Samson reminded me about my patients’ reservations about leaving their pets during hospitalizations. Many of them share the same kinds of anxieties when they are separated from their beloved pets. Hospital visits are rarely planned. I have cared for patients who expressed concerns about their pets being home alone and needing to coordinate pet care. In some cases – to alleviate those patients’ anxieties – I have helped them contact friends and family members to assist with care.
Pets’ popularity grows in U.S.
According to the 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey, about 67% of U.S. households own a pet – which translates to about 84.9 million homes. During the height of COVID, Americans also acquired a greater number of smaller pets.1 In addition, when social restrictions increased, the demand for dog adoptions and the desire to serve as foster owners rose significantly.2 Last Chance Animal Rescue of Waldorf, Md., reportedly saw the adoption of dogs rise from 30%-40% in 2020. Another animal rescue operation, Lucky Dog, of Arlington, Va., in 2020 helped about 3,385 pets find adoption, up from about 1,800 in 2019.3 About two-thirds of all American households and roughly half of elderly individuals own pets.4
Danielle Scott
I am not surprised by those numbers. In my nursing practice, I face many stress-related factors, such as alternating day and night shifts, 12-hour shifts, strenuous physical work, and the psychological strain of attending to ill and dying patients. Interacting with Samson helps relieve that stress. The motion of petting Samson helps calm my heart rate and decreases my anxiety. In addition, Samson makes me smile – and excites almost all the people I interact with while he’s around. Of course, I’m not objective, but I view Samson’s impact on people as a symbol of the power of animal-assisted therapy (AAT).
AAT, defined as “the positive interaction between an animal and a patient within a therapeutic framework,”has proven to be an effective intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities who experience anxiety in an observational study.5 The intervention also has helped reduce cortisol levels in a study of nurses in physical medicine, internal medicine, and long-term care.6 Since most patient hospital stays are unplanned, there is a need to introduce AAT into hospital care. This would lessen anxiety in patients concerning their pets’ welfare.
We know that long-term hospital stays often cause adverse psychosocial effects on patients. Such stays can result in “hospitalization syndrome,” which is characterized by a gradual loss of cognition and orientation, an unwillingness to maintain contact with others or to engage in group therapy, and a loss of interest in their surroundings.7 The common causes for this syndrome are infection, medication, isolation, response to surgery, and dehydration. A consequence can be a permanent change in cognitive function or psychological impairment. However, my experience of practicing nursing for years has led me to discover that pets as an external stimulus can prevent the syndrome’s onset. This is because a large percentage of hospitalized patients have pets, and contact with a pet reminds them of home and the memories they share at home.
Introducing animal therapy into health care facilities could boost patients’ mental health – and ease their anxiety – by acting as a bridge between their present circumstances and the lives they have outside the establishment.
References
1. American Pet Owners Association. Will the COVID Pet Spike Last? State of the industry presentation. 2021 Mar 24.
2. Morgan L et al. Humanit Soc Sci Comm. 2020 Nov 24;7(144). doi: 10.1057/S41599-020-00649-x.
3. Hedgpeth D. So many pets have been adopted during the pandemic that shelters are running out. Washington Post. 2021 Jan 6.
4. Cherniack EP and Cherniack AR. Curr Gerontol Geriatr Res. 2014. doi: 10.1155/2014/623203.
5. Giuliani F and Jacquemettaz M. Eur J Integ Med. 2017 Sep;14;13-9.
6. Machová K et al. Int J Environ Res and Public Health. 2019 Oct;16(19):3670.
7. Machová K et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2012 Apr;16(8):1362.
Ms. Scott is a registered nurse specializing in critical care and also has experience in nursing leadership. She has 8 years of experience in cardiothoracic ICUs. Ms. Scott received a bachelor of science in nursing degree from Queens University of Charlotte (N.C.), and a master of business administration in health care administration from the University of North Alabama, Florence. She has no conflicts of interest.