GSA Interest Group Podcast: Aging in the Company of Animals: A Journey of Recognition and Research of the Human-Animal Bond

The podcast episode will tell specific stories to illustrate the wide range of work members of the interest group are conducting on the impact of human-animal interaction and aging. The members of this group represent the interdisciplinary nature of both gerontology and anthrozoology (i.e., the field of human-animal interaction). This episode will be comprised of two main topics: 1. The connections between gerontology and human-animal interaction and the establishment of the interest group in 2016; 2. Current work being conducted by members of the group around the world.

Selected Citations from the episode:

• Ellingsen‐Dalskau, L. H., de Boer, B., & Pedersen, I. (2021). Comparing the care environment at farm‐based and regular day care for people with dementia in Norway—An observational study. Health & Social Care in the Community, 29(2), 506-514. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13113
• Finnanger‐Garshol, B., Pedersen, I., Patil, G., Eriksen, S., & Ellingsen‐Dalskau, L. H. (2022). Emotional well‐being in people with dementia–A comparative study of farm‐based and regular day care services in Norway. Health & Social Care in the Community, 30(5), e1734-e1745. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13601
• Friedmann, E., Gee, N. R., Simonsick, E. M., Barr, E., Resnick, B., Werthman, E., & Adesanya, I. (2023). Pet ownership and maintenance of physical function in older adults—Evidence from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). Innovation in Aging, 7(1), igac080. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac080
• Rosteius, K., de Boer, B., Staudacher, S., Schols, J., & Verbeek, H. (2022). How the interrelated physical, social and organizational environment impacts daily life of residents with dementia on a Green Care Farm. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 946962. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.946962
• Takase, M., Ogino, R., Yoshida, K., Kusu, H., Kenmochi, T., & Goto, J. (2021). Qualitative research on the primary effect of fish pet ownership using the bottleium, a bottle-type aquarium, on community-dwelling older adults in Japan: A potential preventive measure towards social isolation. Geriatrics, 6(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics6010017

Guests:

• Nancy R. Gee, PhD, C-AISS, Professor of Psychiatry & Director of the Center for Human-Animal Interaction, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
• Mai Takase, Researcher, Institute of Gerontology, The University of Tokyo
• Ingeborg Pedersen, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
• Katharina Rosteius, PhD Student, Department of Health Services Research, Care and Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University

Co-Hosts:

• Jessica Bibbo, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Center Research and Education, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging (GSA Human-Animal Interaction Interest Group Convener)
• Ashley Taeckens-Seabaugh, MSW, Former Research Fellow, Institute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver; Current Director of Research, Hope Squad