Psychosocial interventions for people with dementia: An overview and commentary on recent developments

Abstract

YesAn influential review in 2010 concluded that non-pharmacological multi-component interventions\ud have positive effects on cognitive functioning, activities of daily living, behaviour and mood of\ud people with dementia. Our aim here is to provide an up-to-date overview of research into\ud psychosocial interventions and their impact on psychosocial outcomes. We focused on\ud randomised controlled trials, controlled studies and reviews published between October 2008\ud and August 2015, since the earlier review. The search of PsychInfo, Medline and the Cochrane\ud database of systematic reviews yielded 61 relevant articles, organised into four themes echoing\ud key phases of the care pathway: Living at home with dementia (five reviews, eight studies), carer\ud interventions (three reviews, four studies), interventions in residential care (16 reviews, 12\ud studies) and end-of-life care (three reviews, two studies), along with an additional group\ud spanning community and institutional settings (six reviews, two studies). Community findings\ud suggested that appointment of dementia specialists and attention to case management can\ud produce positive outcomes; physical therapies, cognitive training and modified cognitive\ud behaviour therapy also had a range of benefits. There was more limited evidence of positive\ud benefits for people with dementia through interventions with family carers. Thirty-two articles\ud focused on the management of ‘behavioural symptoms’ through a range of interventions all of\ud which had some evidence of benefit. Also a range of multi-component and specific interventions\ud had benefits for cognitive, emotional and behavioural well-being of people with dementia in\ud residential settings, as well as for quality of life. Overall, interventions tended to be short term\ud with impact only measured in the short term. We recommend further research on interventions\ud to promote living well in the community post-diagnosis and to address end-of-life care.\ud Development of psychosocial interventions would benefit from moving beyond the focus on\ud control of behaviours to focus on wider aspects of life for people with dementia

Affective and Engagement Issues in the Conception and Assessment of a Robot-Assisted Psychomotor Therapy for Persons with Dementia

“…Several studies show a positive impact of these interventions on the well-being, cognition, social life and daily functioning of persons with dementia (PwD) (Hulme et al, 2010; Vernooij-Dassen et al, 2010; Dickson et al, 2012; Oyebode and Parveen, 2016). In recent years a growing number of studies have focused on the use of social robots in interventions for PwD.…”

Psychosocial behaviour management programme for home‐dwelling people with dementia: A cluster‐randomized controlled trial

“…Palliative behaviour management programmes have been developed mainly for nursing home residents with dementia . Since most people with dementia live at their own home and are vulnerable to changes in place of care or residence, behaviour management in home care settings is a critical issue among dementia care strategies.…”

Delaying cognitive and physical decline through multidomain interventions for residents with mild‐to‐moderate dementia in dementia care units in Taiwan: A prospective cohort study

“…Creating a dementia‐friendly pathway for residents with dementia (called “green channel”) is a worthy cause. Although multicomponent interventions have effects for health outcomes, only a few controversial studies have examined cognitive outcomes, which is an important issue . Therefore, the present study set up interventions consisting of a M ulti‐disciplinary team approach, M ulti‐component non‐pharmacological management, C omprehensive geriatric assessment and intervention, and dementia‐friendly medical “ G reen channel” A pproach (2MCGA).…”

“…Several nonpharmacological interventions for patients with dementia are available, but most of them focus on only the management of "challenging behavior," behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, quality of life, physical function, or daily activity. 11 Previous studies provide evidence showing the efficacy of nonpharmacological interventions, such as music therapy, 12 cognitive rehabilitation, 13 exercise training programs, 14 occupational therapy 15 and behavioral management therapies. 16 Case conferences, especially multidisciplinary team conferences, are another important tool for nursing home staff to deal with behavioral problems individually, and they have a positive effect on reducing both the behavioral burden and the use of antipsychotic medications.…”

“…Although multicomponent interventions have effects for health outcomes, only a few controversial studies have examined cognitive outcomes, which is an important issue. 11,19,22,23 Therefore, the present study set up interventions consisting of a Multi-disciplinary team approach,…”