ABSTRACT

Objectives

While assistance dog use has received considerable recent attention, few studies have focused on benefits for older adults. The current review examined effects of assistance dog acquisition across practical, mental, physical, and social wellbeing domains for older adults. Further, it compared assistance dog types and identified potential barriers to acquisition.

Methods

A systematic review was completed. Criteria focused on older adults with relevant disabilities (visual/hearing impairments, and PTSD), who received support from an assistance dog (guide, hearing or other assistance dog). Identified studies (n = 2,951) were screened, 256 assessed for eligibility, and 28 included, with key information extracted and summarized.

Results

All dog types demonstrated benefits across all assessed domains. Disadvantages and acquisition barriers were identified. However, limited empirical evidence was available, and no studies focused exclusively on older adults, revealing the need for studies including this age-group.

Conclusions

While results indicated support for assistance dog acquisition, disadvantages and barriers require further attention. Methodologically improved research should focus on assistance dog acquisition for older persons.

Clinical Implications

The study indicated assistance dog acquisition could produce positive clinical impacts, including on mental health and everyday functioning. Thus, acquisition could be considered as part a multi-faceted treatment or recommended to appropriate older adults.

中文翻译：

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系统评价拥有协助犬对实际支持、健康和福祉的影响：对老年人的影响

摘要

目标

虽然协助犬的使用最近受到了相当多的关注，但很少有研究关注对老年人的好处。当前的综述研究了获得协助犬对老年人在实际、心理、身体和社会福祉领域的影响。此外，它还比较了协助犬的类型并确定了获取的潜在障碍。

方法

系统审查已完成。标准重点关注患有相关残疾（视觉/听力障碍和创伤后应激障碍）的老年人，他们得到了协助犬（导盲犬、助听犬或其他协助犬）的支持。对已确定的研究 (n = 2,951) 进行了筛选，对 256 项进行了资格评估，并纳入了 28 项，并提取和总结了关键信息。

结果

所有狗类型都在所有评估领域都表现出益处。确定了缺点和收购障碍。然而，可用的经验证据有限，并且没有研究专门针对老年人，这表明需要进行包括该年龄组在内的研究。

结论

虽然结果表明支持协助犬的收购，但缺点和障碍需要进一步关注。改进方法的研究应侧重于为老年人购买辅助犬。

临床意义

该研究表明，获得协助犬可以产生积极的临床影响，包括对心理健康和日常功能的影响。因此，获得可以被视为多方面治疗的一部分或推荐给适当的老年人。