Human-Animal Interaction and Healthy Aging

A team of experts assembled by GSA, has been charged with guiding GSA in the development of valuable, credible, and trusted resources to provide awareness of all aspects of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) as it relates to aging, and to help in advance scientific research endeavors.

Life expectancy has vastly increased in many parts of the world, and while pet ownership and other types of HAI have demonstrated benefits to human health, very little is known about the potential role that pets may play in healthy aging.

The expert panel on Human Animal Interaction seeks a multidisciplinary approach to this emerging field of study, through increased research in the roles of companion animals in the lives of older adults, such as mitigating loneliness, social isolation, and depression; and enhancing mobility and cognitive function.

Resources

• The Role of Pets in Human Healthy Active Aging (2018 brochure)
• Journal article: "Critical Review of Research Methods Used to Consider the Impact of Human–Animal Interaction on Older Adults’ Health" (Published April 12, 2018, in The Gerontologist)
• National Institute on Aging infographic recommends ways to stay connected as you age, including adopting a pet
• Infographic summarizing the potential benefits of pets for older adults
• Advancing Research on Human-Animal Interaction in Human Aging: Executive summary of a workshop convened by GSA
• GSA Human-Animal Interaction Interest Group
• November 2016 Symposium: Human-Animal Interaction and Healthy Aging

Funding

GSA, in collaboration with Mars Petcare/WALTHAM™, is funding high quality, innovative research into the impact of companion animals on healthy aging in humans. Through a $50,000 award in 2017, we will promote innovation and enable the conduct of high-quality research on the impact of HAI (pet ownership or other forms of interaction) on healthy aging in older adults (50+ years of age) and/or their caregivers.

The recipients of the award were announced in July at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics World Congress: Drs. Dawn Carr and Natalie Sachs-Ericsson from Florida State University. Dawn and Natalie will be using the Health and Retirement Survey, which includes a module on Human Animal Interaction, to study four aims that will test the hypothesis that a companion animal is beneficial to health in older people, particularly those who are socially isolated and experience a major social loss:

1. Identify critical factors that predict selecting a companion animal later in life, particularly in relation to health, and to understand the selection processes that may influence the benefits of companion animals on older adults
2. Determine if and in what ways human social processes are involved in shaping the relation between companion animals and human health.
3. Examine the influence of companion animals on health among socially isolated older adults relative to socially integrated older adults who experience a major social loss
4. Contribute to a theoretical framework outlining the relationships between human-animal interaction among older adults and human health

This study uses an underutilized data set and will help us to better understand how social context shapes the relevance of companion animals for a range of health problems later in life, particularly for vulnerable older adults.

Expert Panel at Advancing Research on Human-Animal Interactions in Human Aging, April 25-26, 2016

This program is developed by GSA and supported by Mars Incorporated and WALTHAM, the Petcare research division of Mars.