Daniel KW YOUNG
Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Title: Cognitive stimulation group on improving the cognitive ability of persons with major neurocognitive disorder — A randomized waitlist controlled trial
Biography
Biography: Daniel KW YOUNG
Abstract
Purpose: This research study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive stimulation group on improving the cognitive ability of Chinese people with major neurocognitive disorder (PwND).
Research methods: By adopting randomized waitlist controlled trial, 89 Chinese PwND were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or the waitlist control group. The treatment group received a 14-session structured cognitive stimulation group which aimed at improving cognitive ability of participants through group activities. The waitlist control group received treatment as usual at the initial stage and received the same 14-session cognitive stimulation group at a later stage. The Chinese Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (CDRS) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (Chinese) were used to the assess the cognitive ability of PwND at the pre- and post- treatment periods by a research assistant who was blind to the group assignment of the participants.
Results: The treatment group (n=59) and waitlist control group (n=30) did not differ significantly in all demographic variables. Overall speaking, participants had a mean MMSE score of 21.08 (SD=2.40). The paired sample t-test indicated that the treatment group showed improvement in their CDRS score significantly (t=5.87, p<.01), while the waitlist control group did not. Moreover, independent t-test demonstrated that the treatment group was significantly more effective than the waitlist control group in improving the CDRS score (t=4.60, p<.01).
Conclusion: This present study provides evidences to support the feasibility and effectiveness of the cognitive stimulation group on improving the cognitive ability of PwND