Hospice Care and Pet Therapy: Enhancing Comfort and Healing
Hospice care is a professional healthcare service that gives palliative care to individuals suffering from terminal conditions. It enables patients within their final stages of life to achieve the highest possible quality by attending to their physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs. While pain and symptom management are rightly a key focus of hospice care, emotional well-being is also important, and hospices support patients and their loved ones. One increasingly popular and effective therapy in hospice settings is pet therapy – a form of animal-assisted therapy – which draws on the human benefits of animal companionship in terms of its emotional and psychological benefits.
What is Pet Therapy?
The term Pet therapy, also known as animal-assisted therapy, AAT, refers to interactions between patients and trained animals. These include healing or restoring well-being under pet therapy. Common therapy pets are dogs, but cats, rabbits, birds, and other animals can be used as therapy pets. The animals used in pet therapy are trained to interact with people, particularly because they remain relaxing, friendly, and otherwise non-threatening. All the therapy animals undergo certification processes, which ensure that their temperament and behavior are right for working with especially vulnerable patients, such as those in hospice care.
In the hospice setting, pet therapy can be adjusted to meet both the emotional needs and physical needs of the patients. Some patients will appreciate the opportunity to touch and interact with animals while others may benefit just by being in the calm presence of the animal in the room. The therapy sessions are usually short and timed to fit the individual needs of the patient.
Pet Therapy in Hospice Care
Emotional Comfort and Companionship
The largest benefit of pet therapy in hospice care is emotional comfort. When patients are nearing the end of life, loneliness, sadness, fear, and depression are common feelings they experience. Many people in hospice care feel isolated, either because of their inability to move around much, because they are away from families and friends, or because of the emotional burden of their diagnosis. Therapy pets provide unconditional companionship, helping to combat the feeling of loneliness.
The presence of a pet builds an emotional rapport, providing a sense of purpose and warmth in a patient’s life. This is built because most animals do not use language, therefore cannot judge, and provide unconditional acceptance, where even a conversation between a patient and animal often transcends words.
This type of companionship is particularly needed by patients who may be withdrawing socially or emotionally. The calming influence of a therapy pet can be such a comfort to patients who feel they are alone in their difficult times.
Reduced Anxiety and Stress:Â Â Hospice Care
Studies have shown that interactions with animals trigger a physiological response in people that can decrease stress and anxiety. Studies show that merely spending time with animals decreases their blood pressure, lowers cortisol levels (a primary stress hormone), and raises oxytocin levels (a bonding hormone associated with relaxation). For hospice patients who already live with apprehension due to the seriousness of their condition or the fear of uncertainty concerning their prognosis, pet therapy can be of great relief.
Sometimes, the act of petting a dog, cuddling with a cat, or simply having an animal sit quietly by their side evokes a relaxation response. It could make one lose worries and stress as the individual focuses on the simplicity of interaction with the animal. This distraction of pain or anxiety can help patients relax and feel less overwhelmed by their circumstances.
Improvement in Mood and Well-being:Â Hospice Care
The therapeutic applications of pet therapy go further than the immediate decrease in anxiety. Animals can bring joy, laughter, and light-hearted moments to desperate and hopeless situations. Patients in hospice care, who are likely experiencing grief or desolate emotions, can improve their mood through contact with therapeutic animals.
While it might be the wag of a dog, the purr of a cat, or just a patient animal’s presence, pet therapy aids in bettering patients’ emotional states. This may help patients step out of their oppressive feelings brought about by the illness and find moments of happiness during difficult times.
Deflection of Pain and Misery:Â Hospice Care
Pain management is an essential part of hospice care. While medications and other interventions address the physical discomfort, the emotional pain, and the psychological suffering may at times overwhelm the suffering. Pet therapy offers a specific form of distraction from the pain of patients, distracting them and changing their attention from discomfort to positive sensations.
Petting or cuddling with a therapy animal can release endorphins, natural pain relievers. In addition, the simple act of interacting with an animal provides a focus which may distract the patient from his physical pain. Since many patients are in the late stages of their illness and have no control over the physical symptoms, any assistance through emotional distraction would be highly beneficial.
Memory and Cognitive Stimulation:Â Â Hospice Care
This therefore goes on to stimulate the cognitive system for patients with dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease, among other forms of cognitive decline. Some families may not remember their loved ones and perhaps even little detail about their lives; however, animals usually get a good response. Therapy pets can trigger memories of old pets, give them a feeling of familiarity, and engage patients in their sensory experiences that otherwise are missing in their daily lives.
Touching a pet’s fur, hearing their barking or meowing, or seeing them walk may allow the patient to reconnect with their world. At times, even stimulation can trigger a connection with memories or become the medium for communication for patients who have been struggling to present their thoughts in words.
Helps Family Members and Caregivers:
Not only is it beneficial for hospice patients but also offers substantial emotional support for their families and caregivers. Family members are burdened with serious stress, grief, and anxiety as they prepare to lose a dear loved one. A therapy animal can be an effective way to bring comfort to family members, providing them with a short break from the immense emotional burden weighing on them.
For caregivers, who often face burnout from the demands of providing 24/7 care, pet therapy can offer a welcome emotional break. The presence of a pet can help caregivers relax, recharge, and feel more emotionally supported. It also provides them with a unique opportunity to bond with their loved ones, as they share in the experience of interacting with the animal.
Implementing Pet Therapy in Hospice Care:
To be effective, pet therapy requires careful management. In hospice settings, animals are usually chosen for their quiet nature and gentle disposition to work with vulnerable populations. Therapy animals may be trained to manage multiple medical situations, so they must be at ease with patients who have mobility or cognitive disabilities. Animal handlers are also sometimes volunteers who have been trained to ensure the safety and comfort of both the patient and the animal during the sessions.
Hospice providers often work with established pet therapy organizations to arrange visits. Each session is tailored to meet the needs of the individual patient, considering his/her preferences, health status, and comfort level with animals. Not all patients may be amenable to pet therapy, and some may have allergies or may fear the animal. Adjustments are then carried out in the pet therapy program based on the needs of the patient, and therapy animals may be simply present in the room rather than doing direct interaction.
