In retirement homes as on university campuses, loneliness continues to strike where links are rare. In Australia, a pilot program has bet on an unexpected but deeply human solution: to place animals at the heart of the relationship between isolated generations. Around live dogs or robot cats, sincere ties were born between young and elders. Isolated students have found comfort, while the elders have regained a taste for conversation. Thanks to exchanges, the silences have disappeared, giving way to shared, simple but powerful moments. These experiences prove the effectiveness of animals against loneliness, even when they are artificial. The barriers fall, the smiles come back
Launched by the National Center for Healthy Ageing, in partnership with Monash University and Peninsula Health, the project gathered for 18 weeks residents of two retirement homes and international students in Melbourne. Each week, they shared activities around real animals, such as the Barney dog, or robotic companions, such as mechanical cats. The links have naturally woven. According to researchers from the study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, these moments have enabled everyone to get to know the other, beyond age and culture differences.
Animals against loneliness, a lever to improve global well-being
Behind the smiles exchanged and the animal games, the effects of the program also proved to be in the figures. Before and after the sessions, the participants responded to a series of questionnaires assessing their mental health, their social confidence and their feelings of loneliness. The result is clear: the loneliness scores have dropped significantly, going on an average of 49.4 to 41.4 on the Loneliness Scale UCLA scale. In parallel, the quality of life index measured by the EQ-5D-5L climbed from 0.741 to 0.800.
In an article relayed by New Atlas, researcher Em Bould, who directed the study, explains that “the presence of animals, even robotics, acted as a social catalyst”, facilitating the exchange and confidence between people who would never have dared to speak without this pretext. Some students talked about their “Australian grandparents”, while elderly residents said they were looking forward to each meeting. This human reconnection, as simple as it may seem, was enough to modify their daily lives.
Towards a large -scale deployment of the Australian program
One of the major advantages of the PETS and People program is its limited cost. According to the data disseminated by Monash University, the project cost around 237 Australian dollars per participant, or less than 150 euros. This low investment made it possible to generate an improvement in the equivalent quality of life at a cost of 4,017 dollars per year of life adjusted on quality (Qaly), well below the threshold deemed acceptable by the Australian health authorities.
These good results convinced Fronditha Care, one of the providers involved, to extend the initiative to five other establishments. In parallel, the activity guide designed for the program-including games, creative workshops and animal welfare assessment tools-makes it possible to consider replication in other countries and other sectors. Schools, centers for people with disabilities or even social reintegration programs could find an accessible and proven method to restore social ties.
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
