IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i23p12683-d692885.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pet Ownership and Multiple Sclerosis during COVID-19

Author

Listed:
  • Holly Oliver-Hall

    (Division of Medical Sciences and Graduate Entry Medicine, Royal Derby Hospital, University of Nottingham, Uttoxeter Road, Derby DE22 3DT, UK)

  • Elena Ratschen

    (Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK)

  • Christopher R. Tench

    (Mental Health & Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical Neurology, University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
    NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Queen’s Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK)

  • Helen Brooks

    (Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, School of Health Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK)

  • Cris S. Constantinescu

    (Mental Health & Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical Neurology, University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
    Department of Neurology, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ 08103, USA)

  • Laura Edwards

    (Division of Medical Sciences and Graduate Entry Medicine, Royal Derby Hospital, University of Nottingham, Uttoxeter Road, Derby DE22 3DT, UK
    Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, Florence Nightingale Community Hospital, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, London Road, Derby DE1 2QY, UK)

Abstract

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with lower quality of life, reduced social participation, and decreased self-efficacy. The COVID-19 pandemic has had documented effects on the health and wellbeing of people with and without MS. Previous research has demonstrated the positive impact pets can have for people living with long-term conditions. Objectives: To explore the rates of pet ownership and pet attachment in people living with MS and pet ownership associations with quality of life, satisfaction with social roles, and self-efficacy scores; and to explore the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on people’s perceived relationships with their pets. Materials and Methods: A postal questionnaire was distributed to members of a local MS Register and a control group of people without MS. The questionnaire assessed quality of life, satisfaction with social roles, self-efficacy, the perceived roles of pets, and pet-related concerns experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: No apparent difference in attachment to pets was found between the patient and control groups. Pet ownership and level of attachment were not associated with differences in quality of life or self-efficacy scores in people living with MS. Using multiple regression analysis, pet ownership was associated with a decrease in satisfaction with participation in social roles, but with the estimated effect being small compared to having a diagnosis of MS or being unemployed. Most participants reported that pets had positive roles during the pandemic, and the most reported pet-related concern was access to veterinary treatment. Conclusion: Pet owners both with and without MS reported subjective benefits to their wellbeing from pet ownership during COVID-19, although analysis suggested that pet ownership was associated with a reduction in satisfaction with social roles. The study had several limitations and suggestions are made for future work.

Suggested Citation

  • Holly Oliver-Hall & Elena Ratschen & Christopher R. Tench & Helen Brooks & Cris S. Constantinescu & Laura Edwards, 2021. "Pet Ownership and Multiple Sclerosis during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-17, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12683-:d:692885
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12683/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12683/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sara C. Owczarczak-Garstecka & Taryn M. Graham & Debra C. Archer & Carri Westgarth, 2021. "Dog Walking before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: Experiences of UK Dog Owners," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-22, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12683-:d:692885. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.