Impact of stimulation programs in olders adults with dementia who attend a day center

Abstract

Dementia represents a worldwide public health problem with serious medical and socio-economic implications. The Day Care Centre for Old People with Dementia (DCCOPD) is an option at the community level to support the affected people and their families. Objective: describe the results at 6 and 12 months of interventions made at the DCCOPD in patients with dementia. Methodology: this is an open clinical trial. The study population was a convenience sample; comprising 16 AM with dementia, on mild to moderate stage, all of them users of a DCCOPD in Mexico City. Cognition, functionality and dementia severity were assessed. Pre-and post-intervention (12 months) evaluations were compared. Results: 63% were women, mean age was 77.4 years (SD 7.1), 31% had incomplete primary, and 37.5% were independent for Basic Activities of Daily Living (BADL). We observed that the overall cognitive performance was stable at 12th month; when every cognitive fuction was analysed only attention and judgment showed slight deterioration statistically significant, the remaining features showed no change. Discussion and conclusions: dementia is a condition that tends to be progressive, affecting the sufferers and their families. The evaluation showed a stabilization of the global cognitive functioning of those attending the DCCOPD with discrete changes in attention and judgement functions, is recommended to pay special attention on them, in the development of stimulation programs for elders with dementia.