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Animal-Assisted Interactions Designed to Improve Human Wellbeing Across the Life Course

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Well-Being Over the Life Course

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research ((BRIEFSWELLBEING))

Abstract

There is mounting evidence that interacting with a companion animal is beneficial to human health and well-being. Today’s busy lifestyles involving working long hours or extensive travel can make it difficult for people to care for a companion animal, but there are now an increasing number and variety of programs involving animal interactions developed to benefit people of all ages. In this chapter we will discuss noteworthy examples that demonstrate the wide spectrum of Animal-Assisted Interaction (AAI) programs available. While a large number of these programs have not been scientifically tested or in many cases formally evaluated, we will discuss their intended and desired outcomes as well as the potential benefits that may arise from these sorts of interactions with companion animals. Additionally, we will include programs that represent a wide variety of animals from guinea pigs to horses and a wide variety of settings such as school and hospitals and court rooms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Human-Animal Interaction, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Nancy R. Gee

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  1. Nancy R. Gee
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Correspondence to Nancy R. Gee .

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Gee, N.R. (2021). Animal-Assisted Interactions Designed to Improve Human Wellbeing Across the Life Course. In: Well-Being Over the Life Course. SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64085-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64085-9_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-64084-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-64085-9

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