Author:
Sahebalzamani Mohammad,Rezaei Omid,Moghadam Ladan Fattah
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Psychiatric patients who live in psychiatric residential care homes may often feel a loss of autonomy, decision making, and participation in social activities. They usually have few or no visitors and also do not have any purpose for living. Animals may increase the happiness and quality of life of psychiatric patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) on happiness and quality of life of chronic psychiatric patients living in psychiatric residential care homes in Tehran, Iran.
Methods
This randomized controlled trial was conducted with 70 males with a chronic psychiatric disorder who were living in psychiatric residential care homes in Tehran, Iran, in 2016. The patients were randomly selected and divided into animal therapy intervention group and control group. Patients in the intervention group received animal-therapy with a bird for eight weeks. Patients in the control group received no intervention. The Oxford Happiness Inventory evaluated all patients pre and post-intervention. To evaluate life quality, the Wisconsin Quality of Life Index was used. Data were statically analyzed using SPSS Ver.19.0. ANCOVA with pretest statistical control. The significance level was set as p < 0.05.
Results
The mean age in both control and intervention groups were 47.12 and 45.82 years, and the mean age of illness onset for both control and intervention groups was 18.94 and 16.83 years, respectively. The result of this study showed that happiness in the intervention group had significantly increased (p < 0.001). The results also showed that the quality of life in four sub-domains increased significantly.
Conclusion
To bring happiness to chronic psychiatric patients living in psychiatric residential care homes is essential and may result in returning them to society and healthy life. The results of this study showed that AAT was helpful for chronic psychiatric patients living in psychiatric residential care homes and not only made them happy but also increased their quality of life.
Trial registration
This was registered in Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) (clinical trial code: IRCT20101013004922N4. Registered 2018-08-19. Retrospectively registered, https://www.irct.ir/trial/32390
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Psychiatry and Mental health
Reference44 articles.
1. Boyer L, Millier A, Perthame E, Aballea S, Auquier P, Toumi M. Quality of life is predictive of relapse in schizophrenia. BMC Psychiatry. 2013;13(1):15.
2. Noroozi M, Alibeigi N, Armoon B, Rezaei O, Sayadnasiri M, Nejati S, Fadaei F, Ghahestany DA, Dieji B, Ahounbar E. Patterns of relapse risks and related factors among patients with schizophrenia in razi hospital, Iran: a latent class analysis. Pol Psychol Bull. 2018;49(3):355–9.
3. Veenhoven R. Healthy happiness: effects of happiness on physical health and the consequences for preventive health care. J Happiness Stud. 2008;9(3):449–69.
4. Cohen S. Happiness and the immune system. Positive Health. 2002;82:9–12.
5. Cloninger CR, Zohar AH. Personality and the perception of health and happiness. J Affect Disord. 2011;128(1–2):24–32.
Cited by
9 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献，注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献，订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献