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The Effect of Cognitive Stimulation on Nursing Home Elders: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Author(s) -
Apóstolo João Luís Alves,
Cardoso Daniela Filipa Batista,
Rosa Ana Isabel,
Paúl Constança
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 1527-6546
DOI - 10.1111/jnu.12072
Subject(s) - randomized controlled trial , activities of daily living , cognition , medicine , geriatric depression scale , autonomy , gerontology , physical therapy , depression (economics) , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , affect (linguistics) , psychology , depressive symptoms , psychiatry , political science , law , economics , macroeconomics , communication
Purpose This paper describes the effectiveness of cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) on cognition and depressive symptoms in older adults in nursing homes (NHs). Design A randomized controlled trial, carried out from 2012 to 2013, included 56 residents from four NHs, 36 women and 20 men (randomized into experimental and control groups). Eight participants dropped out. Methods Participants of the experimental group underwent 14 CST sessions (7 weeks) in groups of six to eight older adults, and participants of the control group received usual care. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the Geriatric Depression Scale‐15, and the Barthel Index of activities of daily living (ADLs) were administered at baseline and postintervention. Findings Repeated measures revealed that CST increased cognition ( F = 8.581; p = .005; partial η squared = 0.157; power = 0.82). There were no statistically significant differences in depressive symptoms ( F = 1.090; p = .302). Baseline level of ADLs did not affect the outcomes. Conclusions CST had significantly improved cognition, explaining the 15.7% variability, but there was no statistical evidence of its effectiveness on depressive symptoms. This improvement was not affected by the baseline level of dependence‐independence in ADLs. Clinical Relevance CST offers a range of activities, providing general stimulation for thinking, concentration, and memory, usually in a social setting. These results will support implementation of CST in NHs. In addition to the impact on elderly independence and autonomy, CST may also have an economic impact by reducing the direct costs of the impact of elders’ cognitive frailty.