J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs.  2015 Mar;26(1):1-10. 10.12799/jkachn.2015.26.1.1.

The Effects of an Individual Cognitive Improvement Program on the Elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairments

• Park I
• Choi IH
• Kang SY
• Kim Y
• Lee CM

• KMID: 2292696
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2015.26.1.1

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was conducted to investigate changes in cognitive functions, depression and life-satisfaction for elderly participants with mild cognitive impairments participating in an individual cognitive improvement program.
METHODS
A quasi-experimental with non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was implemented. The participants were senior citizens over 65 years of age who had been clinically diagnosed with mild cognitive impairments in G City and J Province (experimental group: 29, control group: 27). The experimental group participated in the individual cognitive improvement program based on Korean traditional tales and games for nine weeks.
RESULTS
After the intervention, only the participants in the experimental group reported significant improvement in K-MMSE (t=-2.5, p=.016), MoCA-K (t=-2.6, p=.008), depression (t=3.51, p=.001), and life satisfaction (t=-2.75, p=.008) when compared to those in the control group.
CONCLUSION
These results indicated that the individual cognitive improvement program was effective in improving cognitive functions, depression, and life-satisfaction among the elderly with mild cognitive impairments. Therefore, the application of this individual cognitive improvement program developed in this study by visiting nurses may strengthen the cognitive functions of seniors with mild cognitive impairments.

Keyword

Mild cognitive impairment; Aged; Program development

MeSH Terms

Aged*
Depression
Humans
Mild Cognitive Impairment*
Nurses, Community Health
Program Development

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