Photo-elicited conversations about therapy dogs as a tool for engagement and communication in dementia care
We know that animal-assisted therapy is a meaningful and pleasant activity that can evoke feelings of joy and pleasure in people with dementia. In this project, the reserachers want to find out whether photos of a person with dementia interacting with a therapy dog could be used to promote positive feelings and memoreis for the that person in a similar way.
Concluded
Start
2017-01-01
Conclusion
2021-08-31
Main financing
Co-financing
Collaboration partners
Project manager at MDU
Photo-books have been created for every participant (n 10) and illustrate the participant's meeting with the therapy-dog. Individual conversations between the dog handler/assistent nurse and the person with dementia were were based on the content in the photo-book. The conversations were video recorded to collect data. Both qualitative and quantitative content analysis were used for the video observations.
Aim of the project
The aim of the project is to by means of photo-elicited conversations interpret and understand how persons with dementia remember their meetings with a therapy-dog and explore photo-elicited conversations as tools for supporting memory and communication.
Objective
The objective is to develop knowledge about how photo-books can be used in dementia care.
