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Item Cognitive Stimulation of Elderly Individuals with Instrumental Virtual Reality-Based Activities of Daily Life(2019-01-01) Gamito, Pedro; Oliveira, Jorge; Morais, Diogo; Coelho, Cátia; Santos, Nuno; Alves, Catarina; Galamba, Ana; Soeiro, Miguel; Brito, Rodrigo; HEI-LAB (FCT) - Digital Laboratories for Environments and Human InteractionsAs the demographic structure in western societies ages, the prevalence and impact of cognitive decline rises. Thus, new solutions to tackle this problem are required. The use of Information and Communication Tech- nologies (ICT)-based cognitive exercises has emerged in the last few decades, though with inconsistent results. Hence, we conducted a pre-post treatment study to further investigate this approach. We designed a set of virtual reality exercises that mimic activities of daily living by which the patient can train different cognitive domains. Twenty-five participants, ages 65–85, underwent 12 training sessions between the pre-treatment and post-treatment assessments. Significant increases were seen between the two assessments for some of the neuropsychological measures: visual memory, attention, and cognitive flexibility. Results also suggest that participants with lower baseline cognitive performance levels improved most after these sessions.Item A home-based individual cognitive stimulation program for older adults with cognitive impairment : a randomized controlled trial(Edições Universitárias Lusófonas, 2021) Silva,Rosa Carla Gomes da; Campos,Elżbieta MaŁgorzata Bobrowicz; Costa,Paulo Santos; Cruz,Ana Rita Pereira da; Apóstolo,João Luís Alves; HEI-LAB (FCT) - Digital Laboratories for Environments and Human InteractionsObjective: This study aims to assess the feasibility and meaningfulness of a home-based individual cognitive stimulation (iCS) program delivered by caregivers to persons with cognitive impairment (PwCIs). It also aims to assess whether the older adults receiving this program improved their cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and depressive symptoms and quality of life and whether their caregivers improved their mental and physical health. Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with PwCI-caregiver dyads recruited from the community. Participants were allocated to two groups: intervention (n = 28) and control (n = 24). The intervention group received the European Portuguese version of the Individual Cognitive Stimulation Program—Making a Difference 3 (MD3-P). The control group received usual care. The iCS therapy program was implemented three times a week for 12 weeks. Caregivers were supported by the researchers to deliver the sessions at home. Participants were assessed at baseline and at the end of the intervention (week 13). Feasibility and meaningfulness were assessed through the attrition rate, adherence, and degree of satisfaction with the sessions. Four interviews were conducted (after week 13) to understand participants’ experiences. Results: The attrition rate was 23.1%. The dyads reported that they did not have high expectations about the iCS program before starting the study. Nevertheless, as the program evolved, caregivers noted that their family members had improved some areas of functioning. Intention-to-treat analysis based on group differences revealed a significant improvement in PwCIs’ cognition, specifically in their orientation and ability to follow commands. The intervention had no impact on other variables such as caregivers’ physical and mental health. Conclusion: The iCS program implemented by caregivers showed promising results in improving PwCIs’ cognition. The participants who completed the intervention attributed a positive meaning to the MD3-P, confirming it as a valid non-pharmacological therapeutic approach to reducing frailty in PwCIs in community settings.Item Virtual reality-based cognitive stimulation on people with mild to moderate dementia due to alzheimer’s disease : a randomized controlled trial(MDPI, 2021) Oliveira,Jorge; Gamito,Pedro; Souto,Maria Teresa Soares; Dias,Ana Rita Conde; Ferreira,Maria; Corotnean,Tatiana; Fernandes,Adriano; Silva,Henrique; Neto,Teresa; HEI-LAB (FCT) - Digital Laboratories for Environments and Human InteractionsThe use of ecologically oriented approaches with virtual reality (VR) depicting instrumen-tal activities of daily living (IADL) is a promising approach for intervention on acquired brain inju-ries. However, results of such an approach on dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are still lacking. This research reports on a pilot randomized controlled trial that aims to explore the effect of cognitive stimulation reproducing several IADL in VR on people with mild to moderate dementia caused by AD. Patients are being recruited from residential care homes of Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora (SCMA) which is a relevant non-profit social and healthcare provider in Portugal. This intervention lasts 2 months with a total of 10 sessions (2 sessions/week). Neuropsy-chological assessment is carried out at baseline and follow-up using established neuropsychological instruments for assessing memory, attention and executive functions. The sample consisted of 17 patients of both genders randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The prelimi-nary results show an improvement in the overall cognitive function in the experimental group, which suggest this approach to be effective for neurocognitive stimulation for older adults with dementia, contributing to maintain cognitive function in AD.Item Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Stimulation to Improve Cognitive Functioning in Community Elderly(2020-03) Gamito, Pedro; Oliveira, Jorge; Alves, Catarina; Santos, Nuno; Coelho, Cátia; Brito, Rodrigo; HEI-LAB (FCT) - Digital Laboratories for Environments and Human InteractionsThe advantages of using naturalistic virtual reality (VR) environments based on everyday life tasks for cog- nitive intervention in the elderly are not yet well understood. The literature suggests that the similarity of such exercises with real life activities may improve generalizability by extending the transfer of gains of training to everyday living. This study aimed to investigate the gains associated with this ecologically-oriented virtual reality cognitive stimulation (VR-CS) versus standard cognitive stimulation in the elderly. Forty-three healthy older adults were divided into two groups: an experimental group underwent a VR-based cognitive stimulation and an active control group underwent a paper-and-pencil cognitive stimulation. The outcomes assessed at the pre-treatment and posttreatment assessment consisted in well-established tests for cognitive and executive functioning, depression, subjective well-being, and functionality. The results showed positive outcomes on dimensions of general cognition, executive functioning, attention, and visual memory in the group that un- derwent VR-CS. Improvements in executive functioning in this group was supported by consistent evidence of increases in attention abilities but little evidence of increases in memory abilities. Both effects may have contributed to improvements in general cognition. Further studies are needed to test whether these effects may extend to well-being and functionality in cognitively impaired older adults.