Grace Peterson Research Colloquium

Mental illness is commonly under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, or untreated, particularly in the elderly population. An expected population increase for those 65 years and older, increased in health care expenses coupled with the moral and ethical obligation of health care providers to promote quality of life at all ages makes investigation to alternative treatments in this population is worth investigating. The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize existing studies to clarify the following questions: What are the effects of pet therapy on those experiencing signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety? Why is pet therapy still lagging in validated studies, despite its increase in use over the years? Peer-reviewed journal articles, published within the last 10 years were selected through the databases CINAHL, psycINFO, Pro-Quest Nursing, and PubMed. A variety of terms related to pet therapy, depression, anxiety, and the elderly were used in the search process. Literature overall found pet therapy has a positive influence on elderly individuals’ mental state. Pet therapy can help improve ones mental state, but evidence regarding its validated effectiveness continues to be weak. Further studies should consider more qualitative data, which will likely offer more rich and thorough insight into pet therapy’s usefulness in the mental well-being of older adults. Keywords: elderly, pet therapy, anxiety, depressio