Occupational performance and awareness of disability in mild cognitive impairment or dementia

Abstract

Limited awareness of disabilities is common in mild cognitive impairment and dementia. In order to get a broader base in planning interventions, it is important to consider a person's awareness of his/her disability encountered in performance. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between occupational performance and awareness of disability in older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Thirty-five older adults were evaluated with the AMPS (Assessment of Motor and Process Skills) and with the AAD (Assessment of Awareness of Disability). Many-faceted Rasch models generated individual measures of ADL performance and awareness of disability. Non-parametric correlation statistics were used to analyse the relationships. The findings showed that there was an overall positive relationship between occupational performance and awareness of disability. However, individual variations in the sample implied that limitations in performance were not equivalent to a limited awareness of disability. In conclusion, awareness of disability should be individually evaluated when planning interventions together with clients and their families.

Key words::

• Activities of daily living
• Alzheimer's disease
• cognition
• occupational therapy

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all participants and occupational therapists for their contributions to this study. This research was supported by Karolinska Institutet, the Solstickan Foundation and the Karolinska University Hospital.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.