Effectiveness of a group‐walking intervention for people with dementia based on quality of life and caregivers’ burden

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 50 million people worldwide have dementia, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year (World Health Organization, 2017a). ICD-10 defines dementia as "a syndrome due to disease of the brain, usually of a chronic or progressive nature, in which there is a disturbance of multiple higher cortical function, including memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language and judgement" (World Health Organization, 2016). Dementia is associated with complex needs and, especially in the later stages, high levels of dependency and morbidity (National Institute for Health & Care Excellence NICE], 2016). In the advanced state of the disease, the major challenges for the affected person, as well as for their family and caregivers, are the behavioural and psychological symptoms.There are four predominant symptom groups: affective symptoms, psychosis, hyperactivity and euphoria (van der Linde et al., 2014).Approximately two-thirds of people with dementia live at home and are supported by their spouse and families (Saxl, 2014). These family caregivers show high levels of physical, time-dependence and developmental burdens (Wang et al., 2014). People with dementia have increased difficulties in doing housekeeping tasks independently. However, they need activities in daily life for structuring their day and cognitive training. For several reasons, people with advanced dementia are limited in doing their leisure activities. One aspect is security: the affected persons are unable to carry out an

Impact of trained volunteers' services in caring for older persons with dementia: a systematic review

“…21 Studies included in this review showed that such interventions to enrich the care for OPD are feasible for implementing with volunteers as non-professionals. [12][13][14][15][16] This result aligns with a previous study by Luger et al that reported the impact of volunteers conducting home-based physical training, nutritional, and social support for older persons living at home. In addition, the assistance from volunteers could help overcome malnutrition status and frailty, and decrease isolation and loneliness in older people.…”

“…17,18 In home or community-based settings, through programs with trained volunteers, patients and their caregivers were encouraged to engage in social activities and enabled to build a relationship with either the volunteers or even with other participants if it was a group program. 12,13,15 Interventions accompanied by trained volunteers were shown to decrease loneliness, and improve mood and social connectedness, moreover affecting the physical and mental well-being of OPD positively. 12,14 Related to psychosocial interventions in dementia care, Chirico et al (2021) found that psychosocial interventions enable people with dementia to maintain their independence and functional ability, reduce behavioural and psychological symptoms, and enrich their quality of life.…”

“…Both private (Hunter et al,2020) and group-based activities (Sun et al, Taraldsen et al, Kohler et al, Long et al) were performed, using interventions such as physical exercise, walking, and MBI. [12][13][14][15][16] Overall, psychosocial support is the impact primarily addressed in the studies reviewed. Hall et al (2019) found in their study that by having more social interactions and supports from the volunteers to engage in activities, agitation and restlessness of patients with dementia were reduced and their well-being enhanced.…”

“…12 A physical activity approach was also conducted in three other studies. [13][14][15] providing support, and motivating OPD and carers to participate in activities outside the home. 13 Moreover, study results from Long et al reported that there were improvements in physical activity levels of the participants by 10% over 3 months, improvements in the ability to recall, and reductions in loneliness, anxiety, and depression using standardized questionnaires or tests as tools.…”

“…12 A physical activity approach was also conducted in three other studies (Taraldsen et al, 2020; Long et al, 2020; Kohler et al, 2021). [13][14][15] Taraldsen et al (2020) and Long et al (2020) both used structured group-based exercises with trained volunteers' help and evaluated them after 12 weeks of intervention. Positive impacts were presented from the focus group and individual interviews, predominantly mentioning building relationships, providing support and motivating OPD and carers to participate in activities outside the home.…”