Introduction: The proportion of older people, especially in developed societies, is growing rapidly. Ageing can hinder an individual from performing basic daily life tasks, making moving to a nursing home, often the most sensible and difficult decision. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to investigate the possibility of including animals in the treatment of older adults, with the aim of positively impacting their health and well-being. Methods: We conducted a review of professional and scientific literature published between 2013 and 2023. Literature was searched using the following search string: elderly OR older OR older adults AND loneliness OR social isolation OR aging OR wellbeing OR health OR mental health AND animals OR pet therapy OR animal therapy AND nursing homes OR rest home OR retirement home OR retirement facility. The literature collection took place in the bibliographic databases PubMed (Medline) and ScienceDirect. We included nine articles in the analysis. Results: Animals can play an important role in nursing homes, especially in promoting social inclusion, as they help older people to establish new relationships and thus contribute significantly to reducing feelings of loneliness and depression. Animals also have a positive impact on the well-being of elderly people in nursing homes and contribute to an improved relationship with caregivers and other professional staff. We identified successful approaches to activities with animals in nursing homes that influence the successful outcome of the intervention. Discussion and conclusion: The impact of animals on the health and well-being of elderly people in nursing homes is positive. This area is still poorly researched. In-depth research could have a positive impact on the inclusion of animal activities in nursing homes, which could have a direct positive impact on the better health and well-being of the elderly. Indirectly, this could relieve nurses and other nursing staff.
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