Activity Intervention in Early to Moderate Demented People

By the year 2030, one in every three people on earth will be age 60 or over and at risk for dementia. Since there is no cure for dementia so many individuals require extensive long-term care. Agitation has been estimated to occur in 70-90% of patients with dementia. It accounts for many poor health outcomes such as decline in functional status, social engagement and physical activity. Agitation often precipitates institutionalization and impacts quality of life (QoL) of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients. It is also the major source of caregiver burden. Studies have reported the positive relationship between leisure activities engagement and enhancing cognitive function, reducing behaviors in demented people and increasing positive affect, as well as improving their quality of life. However, most of the related studies were descriptive and conducted in western countries. Information on leisure participation and its experience in people with dementia in the residential facilities was not available in Taiwan. There is also a lack of understanding the meaning and experience of leisure activities in Taiwanese demented people. Therefore, this project aims to understand the leisure participation and leisure experience, explore the relationships among cognitive impairment, physical limitation, and leisure participation as well as related variables and test the effectiveness of a leisure activity intervention on early to moderate demented people.

Project ID:PC9709-1236
External Project ID:NSC97-2314-B182-026