Vibeke Damgaard

Papers

Total Citations

165

H-Index

About

Vibeke Damgaard is a leading researcher in animal-assisted therapy and geriatric care, whose work has fundamentally shaped our understanding of how human-animal interactions benefit elderly populations in nursing homes. Her research focuses on the therapeutic effects of animal visits, particularly comparing live dogs with robotic alternatives to isolate the mechanisms driving positive outcomes. In her landmark study, "Behavioral Responses of Nursing Home Residents to Visits From a Person with a Dog, a Robot Seal or a Toy Cat" (84 citations), Damgaard demonstrated that live dogs elicit more active and engaged behavioral responses from residents than robotic or toy substitutes, revealing the unique social and emotional value of real animal contact. Her equally influential paper, "Therapeutic effects of dog visits in nursing homes for the elderly" (81 citations), provided rigorous evidence that biweekly dog visits improve sleep patterns and psychiatric well-being among residents with a median age of 85.5. With over 165 combined citations, Damgaard’s work has become foundational for designing evidence-based animal-assisted intervention programs in long-term care settings, bridging veterinary science, psychology, and gerontology to enhance quality of life for the aging population.