The effects of an expanded cognitive stimulation therapy model on the improvement of cognitive ability of elderly with mild stage Dementia living in a community — a randomized waitlist controlled trial

ABSTRACT

Objective: This research study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an expanded cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) model that combines a CST group and tai chi on improving the cognitive ability of community-dwelling Chinese elderly with mild stage dementia (EwMD).

Method: A randomized waitlist controlled trial design was adopted in this study. The treatment group participated in a structured CST group followed by tai chi twice a week, with a total of 14 sessions throughout the study period. The waitlist control group received treatment as usual at the initial stage and expanded CST model at a later stage. The Chinese Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) and the Chinese Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) were used to assess the cognitive ability of EwMD in the pre- and post- treatment periods.

Results: At baseline, the treatment group (n = 51) and control group (n = 50) did not differ significantly in any demographic or clinical variables. Overall, the participants had a mean baseline MMSE score of 20.67 (SD = 2.30). The 2 × 2 repeated measures ANCOVA demonstrated that the treatment group was significantly more effective than the control group in improving the MMSE score (F = 12.31, p< .01) with a moderate effect size (partial eta square = .11) after controlling for group difference in age, gender, education, and having a diagnosis of dementia.

Conclusion: The present study demonstrates the effectiveness of the expanded CST model on the improvement of cognitive ability of community-dwelling EwMD. More research is needed to further investigate this intervention model across cultures and societies.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive functioning
• cognitive stimulation therapy
• Dementia
• randomized waitlist controlled trial
• Tai chi

Acknowledgements

Special thanks are given to the following non-governmental organizations for their kind support of this research project: Caritas Hong Kong Social Service Division, Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service-Hong Kong, Jockey Club Centre for Positive Aging, Hong Kong Christian Family Service, and Hong Kong Christian Service. The authors would like to sincerely thank the participants and staff members for their involvement.

Additional information

Funding

This study was generously fully sponsored by the General Research Fund of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region [HKBU_12606815]