Fur, Fin, and Feather: Management of Animal Interactions in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities
Abstract
Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants and Recruitment
2.2. Measures
3. Results
3.1. Visiting Animals
3.2. Live-In Animals
4. Discussion
4.1. One Health
4.2. One Welfare
4.3. Need for an Animal Policy as a Requirement
5. Limitations
6. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Funding Source | N | % |
---|---|---|
Private for profit | 14 | 45% |
Non-profit | 17 | 55% |
Remoteness | ||
Modified Monash | N | % |
1 Metropolitan | 12 | 39% |
2 Regional center | 7 | 23% |
3 Large rural town | 4 | 13% |
4 Medium rural town | 3 | 10% |
5 Small rural town | 4 | 13% |
6 Remote | 1 | 3% |
7 Very remote | 0 | 0% |
Size | ||
Number of beds | N | % |
0–30 | 2 | 7% |
31–60 | 11 | 36% |
61–100 | 7 | 23% |
101–180 | 7 | 23% |
>180 | 4 | 13% |
Facility-Owned Animals * | Resident-Owned Animals * | Visiting Animals | |
---|---|---|---|
Number (%) | Number (%) | Number (%) | |
Our policy includes instructions for hand hygiene practices for staff and residents who interact with this type of animal. | 9 (32%) | 8 (29%) | 15 (48%) |
Our policy includes information on training or other educational activities for staff members involved in this type of animal care. | 4 (14%) | 4 (14%) | 6 (19%) |
Our policy includes a description of specific areas in the Residential Aged-Care Facility where this type of animal is/is not permitted. | 8 (29%) | 7 (25%) | 12 (39%) |
Our policy includes a procedure to follow if this type of animal bites a person (staff member or resident). | 6 (21%) | 5 (18%) | 8 (26%) |
Our policy includes a procedure to follow if this type of animal becomes ill or injured. | 4 (14%) | 4 (14%) | 5 (16%) |
Our policy includes specific regulations about what species this animal can be. | 4 (14%) | 1 (4%) | 7 (23%) |
Our policy specifically designates who is responsible for this type of animal’s care, including maintaining veterinary records | 9 (32%) | 8 (29%) | 12 (39%) |
Animal Has/Had | Yes | No | Unsure |
---|---|---|---|
Current diarrhea | 0 | 13 | 0 |
Diarrhea in the past 2 weeks | 0 | 10 | 3 |
Not bathed in the past 24 h | 8 | 5 | 0 |
Vomited in the past 2 weeks | 1 | 9 | 3 |
Vomited in past 24 h | 0 | 13 | 0 |
Appears sick | 0 | 13 | 0 |
No vet check in the past 7 days | 11 | 2 | 0 |
Current antibiotic prescription | 3 | 8 | 2 |
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Newton, W.; Signal, T.; Judd, J.A. Fur, Fin, and Feather: Management of Animal Interactions in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities. Animals 2022, 12, 3591. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243591
Newton W, Signal T, Judd JA. Fur, Fin, and Feather: Management of Animal Interactions in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities. Animals. 2022; 12(24):3591. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243591
Chicago/Turabian StyleNewton, Wendy, Tania Signal, and Jenni A. Judd. 2022. "Fur, Fin, and Feather: Management of Animal Interactions in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities" Animals 12, no. 24: 3591. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243591
APA StyleNewton, W., Signal, T., & Judd, J. A. (2022). Fur, Fin, and Feather: Management of Animal Interactions in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities. Animals, 12(24), 3591. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243591