The Effect of Animal Assisted Activity to Elderly

There is a global increase in the elderly population day by day. Biopsychosocial regressions and various health problems are seen in the elderly, and their care and follow-up are mostly carried out in nursing homes. It is stated that the elderly individuals living in the nursing home see the institution related to the institution they stay as an area for making friends and socializing with their peers, but the elderly individuals staying in these institutions experience various limitations. If the elderly individual's assessment of his life is positive, self-compassion is achieved, if it is negative, he falls into despair, depressive mood and loneliness symptoms can be seen. Various psychosocial interventions are recommended for elderly individuals within the scope of protecting and improving mental health. One of the interventions that can be done is animal-supported activities that provide human-animal interaction. Studies conducted in our country with animal-supported activities are very limited, and they have mostly been studied with children. In the international literature, although there are various studies within the scope of animal-supported activities, the number of studies evaluating the effect of interaction with fish is very limited, and studies with fish interaction have been recommended by various researchers. This study is unique because it is the first study in our country to evaluate the effects of animal-assisted practices on the psychosocial health of elderly individuals living in nursing homes.

At the end of the study, it is predicted that the depression and loneliness levels of elderly individuals will decrease. Undergraduate students taking part in the study will also experience doing an experimental study. When considered in the context of Erikson's psychosocial development theory, it is thought that it is important to support the elderly individuals psychosocially in old age, which is the last stage of life. The study is an experimental study designed in a pretest and posttest pattern. The universe of the study; All nursing homes (n=12) in Şişli district will consist of elderly individuals receiving health care services. In the selection of the sample, first of all, the institution where the study will be carried out will be determined by drawing lots among the institutions, and the elderly individuals who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria will form the sample of the study. Data will be obtained with Personal Information Form (KBF), Loneliness Scale for the Elderly (YİYÖ), Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF) scales. Interviews will be held individually, twice a week, for a total of 6 times, including introduction (1), study (4) and termination (1). In the study, answers to the question "Is there a difference between the depression and loneliness levels of individuals before and after animal-supported activities?" will be sought. The analysis of the data will be done using the Statictical Package for Social Science 23.0 package program. In the evaluation of the data, descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, mean and standard deviation will be used to define the sample, two-pair test or Wilcoxon peer test will be used according to the parametric test assumptions for the comparison of the group within itself, and the Chi-square test will be used for the analysis of categorical data. 95% significance level will be used to determine the differences in the analyses. The answers to the open-ended questions will be categorized by the researchers and evaluated as numbers and percentages. As a result of the study, the effect of animal-supported activities on the depression and loneliness levels of the elderly will be determined and a contribution will be made to the literature. In line with the literature and justification, this study was planned to determine the effects of animal-supported activities on depression and loneliness levels in elderly individuals living in nursing homes.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Being 60 years or older
* Do not speak Turkish
* Continuing hospitalization in the specified institution,
* Volunteering to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

* Having a barrier to communication,
* Having a diagnosis of any mental disorder,
* Having a physical, auditory, visual and cognitive disability that will prevent the goldfish in the aquarium from feeding (feeding) twice daily, within the scope of the study,
* Being allergic to fish and fish food,
* Fear of goldfish to be used in the study