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The Role of Companion Dogs in the VA Maryland Health Care System Whole Health(y) GeroFit Program

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Gym-based exercise in a group setting promotes health and wellness among veterans. However, some veterans are not inclined to participate in gym-based exercise, and alternative options should be considered. We found that providing a companion dog for three months improved the surveye...

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Autores principales: Ortmeyer, Heidi K., Giffuni, Jamie, Etchberger, Danielle, Katzel, Leslie
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10571922/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37835653
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13193047
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author Ortmeyer, Heidi K.
Giffuni, Jamie
Etchberger, Danielle
Katzel, Leslie
author_facet Ortmeyer, Heidi K.
Giffuni, Jamie
Etchberger, Danielle
Katzel, Leslie
author_sort Ortmeyer, Heidi K.
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Gym-based exercise in a group setting promotes health and wellness among veterans. However, some veterans are not inclined to participate in gym-based exercise, and alternative options should be considered. We found that providing a companion dog for three months improved the surveyed veterans’ ability to walk longer distances and stand up from a sitting position in a specific amount of time. The number of steps walked and the amount of time physically active throughout the day also increased. Through questionnaires, we found that the veterans were strongly attached to their dogs, and all the veterans reported that their dogs provided love and affection, companionship, and emotional support and facilitated improved social activity participation. We suggest that having a household dog may be an effective alternative to gym-based exercise to promote health and wellness among veterans. ABSTRACT: GeroFit is a gym-based exercise program that promotes health and wellness among older sedentary veterans. The aims of the current study were to determine whether providing a companion dog as an alternative to gym-based exercise would similarly affect whole health outcomes. A total of 15 (n = 15) veterans (62 ± 11 years of age; 13 of 15 >54 years of age) underwent physical function testing, completed global and whole health questionnaires, and wore an accelerometer for 7 days before (baseline) and 3 months after a dog came into their home. The participants completed the Pet Attachment Scale (PAS), Dog Owner-Specific Quality of Life (DOQOL), and Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research questionnaires at 3 months. Cardiorespiratory endurance, lower body strength, daily steps, and time spent engaging in moderate physical activity all increased compared to the baseline levels. Body weight decreased among veterans whose body mass index was ≥30 (n = 11). The PAS and DOQOL scores indicated high attachment and positive effects on quality of life after having a dog in the home, with all veterans agreeing that having a dog improved the number of social activities they performed. We conclude that providing a companion dog to veterans not inclined to participate in gym-based exercise is an effective alternative method of promoting health and wellness in this population.
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spelling pubmed-105719222023-10-14 The Role of Companion Dogs in the VA Maryland Health Care System Whole Health(y) GeroFit Program Ortmeyer, Heidi K. Giffuni, Jamie Etchberger, Danielle Katzel, Leslie Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Gym-based exercise in a group setting promotes health and wellness among veterans. However, some veterans are not inclined to participate in gym-based exercise, and alternative options should be considered. We found that providing a companion dog for three months improved the surveyed veterans’ ability to walk longer distances and stand up from a sitting position in a specific amount of time. The number of steps walked and the amount of time physically active throughout the day also increased. Through questionnaires, we found that the veterans were strongly attached to their dogs, and all the veterans reported that their dogs provided love and affection, companionship, and emotional support and facilitated improved social activity participation. We suggest that having a household dog may be an effective alternative to gym-based exercise to promote health and wellness among veterans. ABSTRACT: GeroFit is a gym-based exercise program that promotes health and wellness among older sedentary veterans. The aims of the current study were to determine whether providing a companion dog as an alternative to gym-based exercise would similarly affect whole health outcomes. A total of 15 (n = 15) veterans (62 ± 11 years of age; 13 of 15 >54 years of age) underwent physical function testing, completed global and whole health questionnaires, and wore an accelerometer for 7 days before (baseline) and 3 months after a dog came into their home. The participants completed the Pet Attachment Scale (PAS), Dog Owner-Specific Quality of Life (DOQOL), and Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research questionnaires at 3 months. Cardiorespiratory endurance, lower body strength, daily steps, and time spent engaging in moderate physical activity all increased compared to the baseline levels. Body weight decreased among veterans whose body mass index was ≥30 (n = 11). The PAS and DOQOL scores indicated high attachment and positive effects on quality of life after having a dog in the home, with all veterans agreeing that having a dog improved the number of social activities they performed. We conclude that providing a companion dog to veterans not inclined to participate in gym-based exercise is an effective alternative method of promoting health and wellness in this population. MDPI 2023-09-28 /pmc/articles/PMC10571922/ /pubmed/37835653 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13193047 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Ortmeyer, Heidi K.
Giffuni, Jamie
Etchberger, Danielle
Katzel, Leslie
The Role of Companion Dogs in the VA Maryland Health Care System Whole Health(y) GeroFit Program
title The Role of Companion Dogs in the VA Maryland Health Care System Whole Health(y) GeroFit Program
title_full The Role of Companion Dogs in the VA Maryland Health Care System Whole Health(y) GeroFit Program
title_fullStr The Role of Companion Dogs in the VA Maryland Health Care System Whole Health(y) GeroFit Program
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Companion Dogs in the VA Maryland Health Care System Whole Health(y) GeroFit Program
title_short The Role of Companion Dogs in the VA Maryland Health Care System Whole Health(y) GeroFit Program
title_sort role of companion dogs in the va maryland health care system whole health(y) gerofit program
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10571922/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37835653
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13193047
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