Animal-Assisted Therapy in Palliative Care

Authors

  • Vanessa Quintal Unidade de Cuidados de Saúde Personalizados Sete Rios. Agrupamento de Centros de Saúde de Lisboa Norte. Lisboa.
  • Paulo Reis-Pina Unidade de Cuidados Paliativos Bento Menni. Casa de Saúde da Idanha. Sintra. Centro de Medicina Paliativa. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisboa.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.13164

Keywords:

Animal-Assisted Therapy, Complementary Therapies, Holistic Health, Palliative Care

Abstract

There are still many cases where traditional medical care does not provide a realistic solution for patients with devastating diseases so other interventions should be adopted. We present a case report of a 76 year-old woman admitted to a Palliative Care unit due to stage IV colon adenocarcinoma, and we describe the contribution of a six-year-old Yorkshire terrier in her symptom management. Animal-assisted therapy can be of great use in palliative care, contributing to the patients’ pain management, relief from suffering and improvement of quality of life.

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Author Biography

Paulo Reis-Pina, Unidade de Cuidados Paliativos Bento Menni. Casa de Saúde da Idanha. Sintra. Centro de Medicina Paliativa. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisboa.

Ex-Médico da Unidade de Dor do IPOLFG, EPE Ex-Médico da Equipa de Cuidados Paliativos do IPOLFG, EPE preispina@doctor.com

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Published

2021-10-01

How to Cite

1.
Quintal V, Reis-Pina P. Animal-Assisted Therapy in Palliative Care. Acta Med Port [Internet]. 2021 Oct. 1 [cited 2025 Apr. 6];34(10):690-2. Available from: https://actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/13164

Issue

Section

Case Report