Residents of nursing homes will now have the right to be accompanied by a pet, this is stipulated by the Act on Good Aging. And then there are also animal robots that can facilitate exchanges and improve the mood of the most vulnerable.
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The Aging Well Act was finally passed in the Senate on March 27. Among the various measures to prevent the loss of autonomy and combat the isolation of the elderly is the right of residents to welcome their pets in the facilities. A week after the National Assembly, the Senate therefore confirmed the bill.
Obviously, “We will have to be realistic.”, as stated by the minister responsible for the elderly, Fadila Khattabiwe won’t be able to move into a nursing home with “an animal like a boa constrictor. They are rather”dogs, cats, goldfish, little canary”, who will be welcomed in the 7,500 nursing homes in France, public, private or associative.
By allowing each resident to be welcomed with their pet, this measure allows the elderly to better understand the nursing home and feel at home again. People are on average 85 years old when they are admitted to a nursing home, but this raises certain organizational questions regarding the animal..
Who will take care of it if the master loses his independence or ends up in the hospital? “There are solutions, the family can take over, volunteers can also come and help”explains Reha Hutin, president of the 30 Million Friends Foundation, which has been campaigning for years for animals to enter nursing homes. “We need to define a framework to avoid these cruel separations”both for the owner and for the dog or cat, sometimes abandoned in shelters.
Robotic pets and therapeutic benefits for older adults
Robotic animals have been introduced to retirement homes in Japan since 2009 to mimic the benefits of home therapy. Many studies have been done and the results are good.
Between 2009 and 2015, other robotic animals were created. Experiments were conducted in Japan and the United States. In retirement homes, they gave these robots to elderly people suffering from dementia. People could benefit from 20-minute group sessions three times a week for three months, during which they had access to the PARO seal. A study by Dr. Charlotte Yeh showed that their anxiety decreased, as did their need for medication to relieve pain or behavioral problems.
AP-HP Bretonneau in Paris and Phoque PARO
France Inter report from October 5, 2017 at Bretonneau hospital about the Flocon seal robot.