Effectiveness of the activities of supporters trained to prevent dementia

Abstract

Introduction: We held a class for supporters in dementia prevention to nurture people who can carry out activities that prevent dementia and restrict its advancement. The objective was for enrollees who have completed the class to be able to visit the homes of older adults who have difficulty leaving their homes and help them carry out activities that prevent dementia. The trained supporters then evaluated the cognitive and psychological effects of interaction. Method: The participants were local residents of Nara and Aichi Prefectures. In the supporter training to prevent dementia, we held 12 training sessions a year at Nara Medical University in Nara Prefecture and Shubun University in Aichi Prefecture. Supporters gather older people in the community to practice dementia prevention activities, and visit the homes of older adults who have difficulty leaving their homes to help the latter carry out activities that prevent dementia. Results: A total of 128 people were enrolled in the training for supporters in dementia prevention. Pre- and post-training supporter evaluations showed significant improvements in both dementia-related skills and availability (p=0.000). In terms of the comparisons before and after visiting 31 older adults people with difficulty leaving their homes, the results of the immediate recall test for cognitive function among the older adults who participated in the activities designed to prevent dementia improved from 4.5 to 7.2, whereas the results of the belated recall test improved from 3.9 to 6.6 (p=0.000). Conclusion: Training for supporters in dementia prevention significantly improved skills. A characteristic of the older adults who had difficulty leaving their homes was that their levels of activity and conversation were low, but the change to their daily lives, increased conversation, and improved activity through the visits of the supporters affected their minds and bodies and significantly improved their cognitive function.