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Pet Presence Can Reduce Anxiety in the Elderly: The Italian Experience during COVID-19 Lockdown Assessed by an Electronic Survey

Author

Listed:
  • Daniele Giansanti

    (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy)

  • Mariacristina Siotto

    (IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Firenze, Italy)

  • Laura Parisi

    (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy)

  • Irene Aprile

    (IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Firenze, Italy)

Abstract

The lockdown imposed in Italy due to the COVID-19 outbreak required restrictions that severely limited individual freedom to protect the population and reduce virus diffusion. This situation psychologically challenged the entire Italian population but mostly the elderly. The “Digital mental health approach” employs digital tools to evaluate and prevent increasing mental health problems. “Anonymous online electronic surveys” are digital tools that assess rates of mental health outcomes (using for example self-assessment/awareness tools). Immediately at the beginning of restrictions, we designed an electronic survey a) to remotely investigate the psychological impact of the lockdown and b) to compare the anxiety between pet owners and not-pet owners. A total of 3905 subjects filled out the survey; we focused our study on 781 (20%) elderly subjects. Dividing elderly patients between pet-owners ( n = 405) and not-pet owners ( n = 376), the pet owners showed a Zung scale score significantly lower in respect to the not-pet owners. We observed that, during the COVID-19 outbreak, the pet presence could have a positive effect on anxiety in the elderly subject. These results: (A) encourage the use of mobile technologies for the assessment of psychological disorders that can be promptly employed in emergencies such as the COVID-19 outbreak; (B) highlight the positive effect of pet interaction to mitigate the psychological distress in elderly people.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniele Giansanti & Mariacristina Siotto & Laura Parisi & Irene Aprile, 2022. "Pet Presence Can Reduce Anxiety in the Elderly: The Italian Experience during COVID-19 Lockdown Assessed by an Electronic Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-12, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:10:p:6135-:d:818266
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Katharina Boldt & Michaela Coenen & Ani Movsisyan & Stephan Voss & Eva Rehfuess & Angela M. Kunzler & Klaus Lieb & Caroline Jung-Sievers, 2021. "Interventions to Ameliorate the Psychosocial Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children—A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-29, February.
    2. Maria Rosaria Gualano & Giuseppina Lo Moro & Gianluca Voglino & Fabrizio Bert & Roberta Siliquini, 2020. "Effects of Covid-19 Lockdown on Mental Health and Sleep Disturbances in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Dasha Grajfoner & Emma Harte & Lauren M. Potter & Nicola McGuigan, 2017. "The Effect of Dog-Assisted Intervention on Student Well-Being, Mood, and Anxiety," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-9, May.
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