Virtual reality and mental health in older adults: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Miranda D. Skurla ◽  
Aniqa T. Rahman ◽  
Sarah Salcone ◽  
Liana Mathias ◽  
Bhumika Shah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Data Privacy ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Geriatric Population ◽  
Training Tool ◽  
Study Population

ABSTRACT Importance: Virtual reality (VR) is a promising tool with the potential to enhance care of cognitive and affective disorders in the aging population. VR has been implemented in clinical settings with adolescents and children; however, it has been less studied in the geriatric population. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the existing levels of evidence for VR use in clinical settings and identify areas where more evidence may guide translation of existing VR interventions for older adults. Design and measurements: We conducted a systematic review in PubMed and Web of Science in November 2019 for peer-reviewed journal articles on VR technology and its applications in older adults. We reviewed article content and extracted the number of study participants, study population, goal of the investigation, the level of evidence, and categorized articles based on the indication of the VR technology and the study population. Results: The database search yielded 1554 total results, and 55 articles were included in the final synthesis. The most represented study design was cross-sectional, and the most common study population was subjects with cognitive impairment. Articles fell into three categories for VR Indication: Testing, Training, and Screening. There was a wide variety of VR environments used across studies. Conclusions: Existing evidence offers support for VR as a screening and training tool for cognitive impairment in older adults. VR-based tasks demonstrated validity comparable to some paper-based assessments of cognition, though more work is needed to refine diagnostic specificity. The variety of VR environments used shows a need for standardization before comparisons can be made across VR simulations. Future studies should address key issues such as usability, data privacy, and confidentiality. Since most literature was generated from high-income countries (HICs), it remains unclear how this may be translated to other parts of the world.

scholarly journals Cognitive training using the abacus: a literature review study on the benefits for different age groups

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-266
Author(s):  
Thais Bento Lima-Silva ◽  
Maurício Einstoss de Castro Barbosa ◽  
Mariana Garcia Zumkeller ◽  
Cássia Elisa Rosseto Verga ◽  
Patrícia Lessa Prata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Mental Image ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cognitive Stimulation ◽  
Training Tool ◽  
Review Study

ABSTRACT. The literature indicates that cognitive stimulation interventions have shown promising results. Abacus represents a tool with great potential in such interventions. Objectives: To carry out a systematic review of studies published in recent years that entailed the delivery of a cognitive training program using an abacus to boost target cognitive abilities of older persons and also other age groups, with or without cognitive impairment. Methods: A systematic review study was conducted in July 2020 involving PubMed, MedLine, LILACS, and SciELO databases. Results: A total of 29 studies were retrieved, of which 8 aimed to identify the effect of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) for different age groups and to determine its applicability as a method of cognitive stimulation for older adults. In AMC technique, participants first learn to use the physical abacus (PA) and after achieving proficiency they perform calculations using a mental image of the device, manipulating the beads of the so-called mental abacus (MA). Conclusions: The number of studies addressing abacus use as a cognitive training tool was rather limited, considering the relevance of the theme. Their interventions have shown benefits for cognitive functioning of individuals of various age groups, including older adults with cognitive impairment. Future studies that involve larger samples of healthy and/or cognitively impaired older adults with a longitudinal design and a more elaborate methodological design are suggested.

scholarly journals Repetition Priming in Individuals with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Dementia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liselotte De Wit ◽  
Vitoria Piai ◽  
Pilar Thangwaritorn ◽  
Brynn Johnson ◽  
Deirdre O’Shea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Repetition Priming ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Amnestic Mci ◽  
Standard Mean Difference ◽  
Priming Paradigm

AbstractThe literature on repetition priming in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is inconsistent, with some findings supporting spared priming while others do not. Several factors may explain these inconsistencies, including AD severity (e.g., dementia vs. Mild Cognitive Impairment; MCI) and priming paradigm-related characteristics. This systematic review and meta-analysis provides a quantitative summary of repetition priming in AD. We examined the between-group standard mean difference comparing repetition priming in AD dementia or amnestic MCI (aMCI; presumably due to AD) to controls. Thirty-two studies were selected, including 590 individuals with AD dementia, 267 individuals with amnestic MCI, and 703 controls. Our results indicated that both individuals with aMCI and AD dementia perform worse on repetition priming tasks than cognitively older adults. Paradigm-related moderators suggested that the effect size between studies comparing the combined aMCI or AD dementia group to cognitively healthy older adults was the highest for paradigms that required participants to produce, rather than identify, primes during the test phase. Our results further suggested that priming in AD is impaired for both conceptual and perceptual priming tasks. Lastly, while our results suggested that priming in AD is impaired for priming tasks that require deep processing, we were unable to draw firm conclusions about whether priming is less impaired in aMCI or AD dementia for paradigms that require shallow processing.

scholarly journals Digital Storytelling in Older Adults With Typical Aging, and With Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia: A Systematic Literature Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 073346482110154
Author(s):  
Adriana Maria Rios Rincon ◽  
Antonio Miguel Cruz ◽  
Christine Daum ◽  
Noelannah Neubauer ◽  
Aidan Comeau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Digital Storytelling ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Form Of Life ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Care Partners

The rates of dementia are on the rise as populations age. Storytelling is commonly used in therapies for persons living with dementia and can be in the form of life review, and reminiscence therapy. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine the range and extent of the use of digital technologies for facilitating storytelling in older adults and their care partners, and to identify the processes and methods, the technologies used and their readiness levels, the evidence, and the associated outcomes. Eight electronic databases were searched: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, ERIC, Web of Science, and Scopus. We included 34 studies. Mild cognitive impairment or dementia represented over half of medical conditions reported in the studies. Overall, our findings indicate that the most common use of digital storytelling was to support older adults’ memory, reminiscence, identity, and self-confidence; however, the level of evidence of its effectiveness was low.

scholarly journals Managing Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: An Interprofessional, Standardized Patient Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 10-10
Author(s):  
Shaun Varrecchia ◽  
Carol Maritz ◽  
Colleen Maher ◽  
Megan Strauss
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Interprofessional Education ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
Standardized Patient ◽  
Geriatric Population ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Interprofessional Teams ◽  
Occupational Therapy Students

Abstract Several professional organizations have called for increased preparation of health professionals capable of working with older adults, including those with cognitive impairment. Standardized patients (SP) are often used in interprofessional education (IPE) in the health professions, but limited data exists to support their use when teaching about the care and management of older adults with cognitive impairment. The purposes of this project were to: 1) develop, implement, and assess an interprofessional standardized patient exercise involving physical and occupational therapy students and 2) to evaluate students’ perceptions of a SP encounter on relevance and utility to patients with cognitive impairment. 88 students representing physical therapy (DPT) and occupational therapy (DrOT) were assigned to interprofessional teams to evaluate an SP portraying an older adult with cognitive impairment. At the conclusion of the session the SP provided the group formative feedback. Student teams then completed an assignment to develop a collaborative intervention plan and addressed questions about roles and responsibilities and communication/teamwork. Pre-/post- surveys focusing on the knowledge of roles and responsibilities, communication, and teamwork were completed by all students. Students also completed an evaluation about the SP experience. Results demonstrated student agreement to understanding the role of the other’s profession improved 28.67%; being comfortable communicating with the geriatric population improved 27.31%; and working in interprofessional teams can improve geriatric patient care improved 32.11%. These findings demonstrate that use of SPs has several advantages in teaching students how to work and communicate with individuals with cognitive impairments as an interprofessional team.

scholarly journals Hearing Loss Treatment in Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (10) ◽  
pp. 2589-2603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara K. Mamo ◽  
Nicholas S. Reed ◽  
Carrie Price ◽  
Dona Occhipinti ◽  
Alexandra Pletnikova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Vocabulary ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Full Text Review

Purpose The purpose of this systematic review was to assess studies of treating hearing loss in older adults with cognitive impairment. Of interest to this review is identifying clinical adaptations that may be used to tailor hearing loss treatment to older adults with cognitive impairment in order to better serve this vulnerable population. Method A systematic search with controlled vocabulary and key word terms was applied to PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Search concepts included terms related to hearing loss and cognitive impairment. The overall search resulted in 4,945 unique references, 50 of which were eligible for full-text review and 13 of which were included in the final review. Included manuscripts were categorized according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's levels of evidence and the National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tools. Results Only 1 study implemented a randomized controlled trial design to assess cognitive function and behavioral symptoms after treatment with hearing aids. Other quasiexperimental studies evaluated dementia-related symptoms and/or auditory function after treating hearing loss in pre/post research designs. Finally, evidence from case studies suggested that hearing loss treatment is feasible, reduces stressful communication for caregivers, and improves dementia-related behavior problems. Conclusion Based on the systematic review, evidence suggests that treating hearing loss in persons with cognitive impairment can have benefits to communication and quality of life. Because of the quasi- and nonexperimental nature of most of the evidence found in this review, further studies are necessary to understand the effect of treatment in the context of a variable and progressive disease.

scholarly journals Exploring Cognitively Loaded Physical Activity Compared With Control to Improve Global Cognitive Function in Older Community-Dwelling Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

2019 ◽  
pp. 155982761987688
Author(s):  
Kristina Zawaly ◽  
Richard Fortier ◽  
Stephen Buetow ◽  
Lynette Tippett ◽  
Ngaire Kerse
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Global Cognitive Function ◽  
Global Cognition

Objective. A systematic review with a meta-analysis explored effects of cognitively loaded physical activity interventions on global cognition in community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years of age) experiencing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), compared to any control. Methods. A literature search was conducted in 4 databases (MEDLINE [OvidSP], PubMed, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials [Wiley]) from inception until January 30, 2018. The meta-analysis was conducted with Review Manager 5.3. Results. Six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 547 participants were identified. The interventions ranged from 4 to 52 weeks. Baseline and initial follow-up assessments were used. The primary pooled analysis of all RCTs demonstrated a nonsignificant trivial effect (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.44 to 0.58) favoring the intervention. In pooled subanalysis of 4 RCTs (n = 405) using the same global cognition measure (Mini-Mental State Examination) and duration of intervention >12 weeks, the intervention group achieved a small but significant improvement for global cognition (SMD 0.45, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.75). Conclusion. When all the RCTs were pooled, the effect of cognitively loaded physical activity intervention on global cognitive function in older adults with MCI remained unclear. The subgroup analysis provides translation evidence for future RCT study designs.

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