Maintaining Cognitive Health in Older Adults: Australians’ Experience of Targeted Computer-Based Training, using the Brain Fitness Program

ABSTRACT

Aims: This study explores the experience of older Australians completing the Brain Fitness Program (BFP). The BFP is computer-based training, of 40 hours duration, designed to address cognitive decline in healthy older individuals. Methods: Ten Australians participated in an exploratory concurrent mixed method study. Cognitive outcome measures and participant-reported quality of life were used to examine the effect of the training. Pre-intervention measures were taken immediately prior to training and post-intervention scores were measured within one week of completing the training. The lived experience of completing the BFP was explored via interviews. Results: All participants made statistically significant improvement in measures of attention and concentration. Six reported improvements in thinking or communication skills in everyday life, while four could not identify any changes to their lives. Universally, participants found the BFP easy to use, although eight participants found it arduous to complete, requiring strong motivation and persistence to finish the program. Most found the repetitive nature of the instructions frustrating, and all participants found the American presentation style and American-English culturally inappropriate in the Australian setting. Conclusions: Our results concur with the literature, such that the BFP positively affects the attributes of attention and concentration. However, our findings suggest that not all older Australians will report transfer of trained skills to everyday function and that older Australians may find the BFP arduous and culturally inappropriate. Our findings add to the debate on the usefulness of brain training software, although, to be fully conclusive, further investigation with greater participant numbers is required.

KEYWORDS. :

• Cognition
• quality of life
• aging
• life skills