Pros and cons of pet ownership in sustaining independence in community-dwelling older adults: a scoping review

Although community services support ageing-in-place, older adults often report feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Unmet emotional needs are associated with poorer health, reduced functional abilities and increased mortality in this population. Pet ownership is an avenue worth exploring to reduce these adverse outcomes. This scoping review maps main findings and identifies key gaps with respect to the pros and cons of pet ownership in community-dwelling older adults pertaining to psycho-social, physical and functional outcomes. Scientific and grey literature published from January 2000 to July 2018 was searched. Data selection and extraction were performed by the first author and a sub-sample was co-validated by two co-authors. A total of 62 sources were included for descriptive and thematic analysis. A variety of pros (increased physical activity, wellbeing) and cons (grief, risk of falls) pertaining to psycho-social and physical outcomes were identified. Not many functional outcomes (support for daily routines) were mentioned, and few studies explored the simultaneous balance between the pros and cons of pet care. Further research exploring both clinicians' and older pet owners' perspectives is needed to deepen our understanding of the importance of considering companion animals in older adults' daily lives and to strike a balance between perceived risks and benefits.