Official name:
Pilot and evaluation of the Pets and People program – an animal-assisted activity program to support intergenerational and intercultural community connections to reduce loneliness and social isolation.

About the research:

This is the first study to explore the potential of using a shared interest in pets to support intergenerational and intercultural connections, for two groups of people at-risk of loneliness and social isolation.

The Pets and People Program adopted an action research approach. Two Victorian-based aged care providers agreed to participate in the research, and they chose one of their aged care facilities in Melbourne to take part. Informed consent was provided by three groups of people:

1. Older adults aged 65 years and over living in aged care facilities;
2. Senior management staff from the aged care providers; and
3. International university students aged 18 years and over from a university in Melbourne.

The study began in September 2023. Seven older adults, six international university students and eight senior management staff took part in co-design workshops. This included discussing possible program activities, their preferred format of the program, and a review of three draft resources.

The 18-week pilot of the program started in February 2024. In each aged care facility, between eight to 15 older adults and international university students volunteered to participate in the program. They met face-to-face for about 1 hour, over 18 weeks.

The program was evaluated using mixed methods. Six older adults, 10 international university students and three senior management staff participated in the evaluation activities. There was a significant decrease in feelings of loneliness, and a significant increase in the health of older adults and international university students. The cost for each person who participated in 10 weeks or more of the 18-week program was $237. An exploratory cost-utility analysis indicated a cost of $4,017 per quality adjusted life year gained, which is well below the threshold for the Australian Government’s health related expenditure.

The pilot of the Pets and People program and evaluation findings have demonstrated a promising example of a low-cost program that can enhance health-related quality of life, wellbeing, and feelings of loneliness through the presence of live or robotic pets, and other animal-assisted activities.

The Pets and People program has since been scaled to include all residential aged care homes and community-based programs of one aged care provider. Given the resources produced the Pets and People program has the potential for further replication and scaling across aged care settings both in Australia and internationally.

Project timing: 03/01/23 – 17/12/24 (Finished)