Robotic Pets: Supplemental Rehabilitation for the Dementia-Suffering Individual

People with dementia (PwD) along with their caregivers currently face challenges in the disease process because there is a major gap in available treatment and therapies, especially those that are non-pharmacological. The literature shows an increased incidence of dementia, and currently, there is no cure. This leaves medication as the treatment of choice. The aim of this project was to investigate whether introducing robotic pets as a supplemental therapy to persons with mild to moderate dementia helps in reducing their level of anxiety and agitation. Based on a review of the literature on the benefits of robotic pet interactions with dementia-suffering individuals, a quality improvement project was conducted in a suburban city in Arizona. Project participants included individuals with dementia and their caregivers. They were asked to interact with the robotic pet in their home for four, one-hour sessions, over a four-week timeframe. Analysis of the findings revealed that individuals with dementia found a sense of joy and peace while interacting with the pets, and they looked forward to the pet visit every week with excitement. These results indicated that introducing robotic pets to dementia-suffering individuals was clinically significant as it relates to their anxiety and agitation levels. Utilizing robotic pets as a supplemental therapy can benefit dementia-suffering individuals and their caregivers. Further evaluation is needed with a larger sample size to better understand the impact of robotic pets on PwD.