Since the late 1970s, scientific evidence has accumulated showing that pet ownership can
have positive effects on people's physical and mental wellbeing. This paper reviews the …

Fossil evidence indicates an association between human beings and animals dating back at
least half a million years. Today, this relationship remains strong, as evidenced by millions of …

Background We focused on human-animal interaction (HAI) as an important aspect of social
functioning at the individual level, framing this emerging field from a public health …

The literature on animals as human companions is divided into studies of naturally occurring
pet ownership and studies in which pets have been introduced as some form of intervention …

Research on the impact of companion animals in the lives of older adults is considered from
two perspectives: pet ownership and in animal-assisted interventions (AAI). This paper first …

People believe that pets are important. This is evident in popular culture where a dog is
considered to be “man's best friend'. In fact a multitude of articles appear in the …

A number of studies suggest an association between pet ownership and advantages for
health, but the underlying processes are not clear. One hypothesis is that the relationship …

An overview of available instruments that assess characteristics of human–animal
interactions is provided, followed by a matrix of 140 tools, what they measure, information on …

A number of researchers have explored the relationship between companion animal
ownership and human physical and psychological health. Results have been inconclusive …

Exactly how do animals affect the quality of life of their human companions? The 7th
International Conference on Animals, Health, and Quality of Life set out to explore this …