Giving Compass' Take:
- Grantmakers in Aging presents a webinar about the research demonstrating the benefits of therapy dogs for older adults and people with dementia.
- How can donors help scale animal-assisted interventions to improve the health of older adults?
- Learn about prioritizing public health systems for older people.
What is Giving Compass?
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This webinar was co-hosted by Grantmakers In Aging (GIA), American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), and The Good Dog Foundation.
Preliminary research demonstrates the benefits of therapy dogs for older adults. Research has also shown the benefits of canine-human interaction for people with dementia. Specifically, therapy dogs help to combat loneliness, decrease agitation, and decrease symptoms of depression in people with cognitive impairments. While there are many opportunities for animal-assisted interventions to improve health and well-being of older adults and those with dementia, additional research is still needed to bring these solutions to scale.
Watch the video about therapy dogs and healthy aging at Grantmakers in Aging.