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Cognitive stimulation therapy for people with dementia in Brazil (CST‐Brasil): Results from a single blind randomized controlled trial
Author(s) -
Marinho Valeska,
Bertrand Elodie,
Naylor Renata,
Bomilcar Iris,
Laks Jerson,
Spector Aimee,
Mograbi Daniel C.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.5421
Subject(s) - dementia , psychosocial , mood , randomized controlled trial , quality of life (healthcare) , caregiver burden , intervention (counseling) , cognition , psychological intervention , context (archaeology) , medicine , clinical psychology , activities of daily living , attendance , psychology , gerontology , psychiatry , physical therapy , disease , nursing , paleontology , surgery , pathology , economics , biology , economic growth
Abstract Objective The prevalence of dementia has been increasing particularly in developing countries but care provision is still limited in these regions. Psychosocial interventions are recognized as useful tools to improve cognitive and behavioral difficulties, as well as quality of life of people with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers. Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) is an evidence‐based psychosocial intervention, recommended and implemented in many countries. In Brazil, there is no validated psychosocial intervention for dementia care. The present study aims to explore feasibility and obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of CST‐Brasil in a sample of 47 people with mild to moderate dementia attending an outpatient unit. Methods A single‐blind design was used, with participants being randomly allocated to either 14 sessions of CST + treatment as usual (TAU; n = 23) or TAU ( n = 24) during 7 weeks. Changes in cognition, quality of life, depressive symptoms, caregiver burden and functionality were measured. Results PwD receiving CST and their family caregivers expressed good acceptance of the intervention, with low attrition and high attendance. Participants receiving CST exhibited significant improvements in mood and in activities of daily living compared to TAU. There were no significant effects in cognition, quality of life and caregiver burden. Conclusions CST‐Brasil proved to be a feasible and useful intervention to improve mood in PwD, with high acceptance between study participators. CST‐Brasil is a promising psychosocial intervention for dementia and should be explored in other clinical settings to allow generalization to a wider Brazilian context.