Sensory stimulation programs in dementia: a systematic review of methods and effectiveness

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Dementia is characterized by the presence of cognitive decline and can lead to sensory-perceptual alterations, compromising the functionality in activities of daily living. The main objective of this work is to review the characteristics of sensory stimulation programs in dementia and its effectiveness.

Areas covered

Studies were identified through a literature search, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and the Cochrane Collaboration Guidelines. Twenty studies were included in this review. The studies used multisensory stimulation at different stages of dementia. The results show a lack of consensus regarding frequency, duration, and number of sessions, as well as the duration of the interventions and assessment instruments used to evaluate the results. Multisensory stimulation, particularly Snoezelen, was the most widely used approach. Vision, hearing, touch, and smell were the most frequently stimulated senses. Most studies comprised pre- and post-intervention assessment, but few studies performed follow-up assessment. The interventions that revealed positive results in dementia were Snoezelen, multisensory environment other than Snoezelen, and Multi-sensory Behavior Therapy.

Expert opinion

This review weakly supports sensory stimulation in dementia, providing useful information for rehabilitation and future investigations.

KEYWORDS:

• Sensory stimulation
• Snoezelen
• dementia
• systematic review
• PRISMA

Article highlights

• Effective non-pharmacological therapies are needed to improve the functionality in activities of daily living in dementia. Sensory interventions in dementia are important because of sensory deficits and interactions between sensory and cognitive functioning.

• Multisensory stimulation, particularly Snoezelen had positive effects on individuals with dementia.

• Studies hold some methodological limitations as poor characterization of participants, heterogeneous sampling methods, and assessment procedures.

• Future studies could combine sensory and cognitive interventions in dementia.

• Previous studies reported an enhancement of multisensory integration in normal aging; thus, it will be important to understand if it is also true for dementia and to compare the effects of multisensory stimulation with multisensory integration training.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.