scholarly journals Long-Term Effects on Loneliness of a Computer-Tailored Intervention for Older Adults With Chronic Diseases: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2021 ◽  
pp. 089826432110150
Author(s):  
Janet M. Boekhout ◽  
Esmee Volders ◽  
Catherine A. W. Bolman ◽  
Renate H. M. de Groot ◽  
Lilian Lechner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Social Loneliness

Objectives: This study explores the effects of the Active Plus intervention aiming to decrease loneliness among older adults (>65 years) with chronic diseases. Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was performed (N = 585; age: M = 74.5 years, SD = 6.4), assessing loneliness at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. Outcome measures in the multilevel linear regression analyses were total, social and emotional loneliness. Results: At 12 months, significant decreases in total ( B = −.37, p = .01) and social loneliness ( B = −.24, p = .02) were found. Age was a significant moderator for total and social loneliness; however, the intervention was effective only for participants aged 80 years and older. Discussion: The Active Plus intervention showed a significant decrease in total and social loneliness and was especially beneficial for the vulnerable age group of 80 years and older. A more comprehensive tool for measuring social activity and mobility impairments, and using a longer time frame to detect loneliness changes, may form interesting future research.

scholarly journals Photo-Integrated Conversation Moderated by Robots for Cognitive Health in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihoko Otake-Matsuura ◽  
Seiki Tokunaga ◽  
Kumi Watanabe ◽  
Masato S. Abe ◽  
Takuya Sekiguchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Randomized Controlled

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesSocial interaction might prevent or delay dementia, but little is known about the specific effects of various social activity interventions on cognition. This study conducted a single-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Photo-Integrated Conversation moderated by a Robot (PICMOR), a group conversation intervention program for resilience against cognitive decline and dementia.Research Design and MethodsIn the RCT, PICMOR was compared to an unstructured group conversation condition. Sixty-five community-living older adults participated in this study. The intervention was provided once a week for 12 weeks. Primary outcome measures were the cognitive functions; process outcome measures included the linguistic characteristics of speech to estimate interaction quality. Baseline and post-intervention data were collected. PICMOR contains two key features: (i) photos taken by the participants are displayed and discussed sequentially; and (ii) a robotic moderator manages turn-taking to make sure that participants are allocated the same amount of time.ResultsAmong the primary outcome measures (i.e., cognitive functions), verbal fluency significantly improved in the intervention group. Among the process outcome measures (i.e., linguistic characteristics of speech), the amount of speech and richness of words were larger for the intervention group.Discussion and ImplicationsThis study demonstrated for the first time the positive effects of a robotic social activity intervention on cognitive function in healthy older adults via RCT. The group conversation generated by PICMOR may improve participants’ cognitive function controlling the amount of speech produced to make it equal. PICMOR is available and accessible to community-living older adults.

scholarly journals Targeting autonomic flexibility to enhance cognitive training outcomes in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng V. Lin ◽  
Kathi Heffner ◽  
Richard Gevirtz ◽  
Zhengwu Zhang ◽  
Duje Tadin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Combined Intervention

Abstract Importance Cognitive training with components that can further enhance the transferred and long-term effects and slow the progress of dementia is needed for preventing dementia. Objective The goal of the study is to test whether improving autonomic nervous system (ANS) flexibility via a resonance frequency breathing (RFB) training will strengthen the effects of a visual speed of processing (VSOP) cognitive training on cognitive and brain function, and slow the progress of dementia in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Design Stage II double-blinded randomized controlled trial. The study was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, with registration approved on 21 August 2020 (No. NCT04522791). Setting Study-related appointments will be conducted on-site at University of Rochester Medical Center locations. Data collection will be conducted from August 2020 to February 2025. Participants Older adults with MCI (n = 114) will be randomly assigned to an 8-week combined intervention (RFB+VSOP), VSOP with guided imagery relaxation (IR) control, and a IR-only control, with periodical booster training sessions at follow-ups. Mechanistic and distal outcomes include ANS flexibility, measured by heart rate variability, and multiple markers of dementia progress. Data will be collected across a 14-month period. Discussion This will be among the first RCTs to examine in older persons with MCI a novel, combined intervention targeting ANS flexibility, an important contributor to overall environmental adaptation, with an ultimate goal for slowing neurodegeneration. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04522791. Registered on 21 August 2020 Protocol version: STUDY00004727; IRB protocol version 2, approved on 30 July 2020.

scholarly journals Cognitive Intervention Through Photo-Integrated Conversation Moderated by Robots (PICMOR) Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihoko Otake-Matsuura ◽  
Seiki Tokunaga ◽  
Kumi Watanabe ◽  
Masato S. Abe ◽  
Takuya Sekiguchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Randomized Controlled

Social interaction might prevent or delay dementia, but little is known about the specific effects of various social activity interventions on cognition. This study conducted a single-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Photo-Integrated Conversation Moderated by Robots (PICMOR), a group conversation intervention program for resilience against cognitive decline and dementia. In the RCT, PICMOR was compared to an unstructured group conversation condition. Sixty-five community-living older adults participated in this study. The intervention was provided once a week for 12 weeks. Primary outcome measures were the cognitive functions; process outcome measures included the linguistic characteristics of speech to estimate interaction quality. Baseline and post-intervention data were collected. PICMOR contains two key features: 1) photos taken by the participants are displayed and discussed sequentially; and 2) a robotic moderator manages turn-taking to make sure that participants are allocated the same amount of time. Among the primary outcome measures, one of the subcategories of cognitive functions, verbal fluency significantly improved in the intervention group. Among the process outcome measures, a part of the subcategories of linguistic characteristics of speech, the amount of speech and richness of words, proportion of providing topics, questions, and answers in total utterances were larger for the intervention group. This study demonstrated for the first time the positive effects of a robotic social activity intervention on cognitive function in healthy older adults via RCT. The group conversation generated by PICMOR may improve participants’ verbal fluency since participants have more opportunity to provide their own topics, asking and answering questions which results in exploring larger vocabularies. PICMOR is available and accessible to community-living older adults.Clinical Trial Registration:UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, identifier UMIN000036667.

scholarly journals Effectiveness and sustainability of a motor-cognitive stepping exergame training on stepping performance in older adults: a randomized controlled trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Hauer ◽  
Elena Litz ◽  
Michaela Günther-Lange ◽  
Caroline Ball ◽  
Eling D. de Bruin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Exercise Program ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Balance Exercises

Abstract Background Training effects reported for stepping exergames on stepping performances in older adults often based on not comprehensively validated outcomes measures, and follow-up data on their sustainability are lacking. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of a motor-cognitive stepping exergame training on the stepping performance in older adults. Methods Fifty-eight older adults (78.3 ± 6.5 years) participated in the randomized controlled trial with a 10-week intervention and 10-week follow-up period. The intervention group (IG: n = 29) took part in a once-weekly exercise program including strength and balance exercises supplemented with an additional stepping exergame training. The control group (CG: n = 29) only performed the strength and balance exercises. Outcome measures included stepping reaction times (SRTs) and games scores for individual stepping exergame levels and for the overall exergame performance, as measured by an assessment strategy previously validated in older adults. Results SRTs and/or games scores for 7 out of 10 levels and the overall exergame performance significantly improved in the IG compared to the CG during the intervention (p ≤ 0.001–0.039, ηp2 = 0.090–0.445). Training gains were sustained for 2 levels and for the overall exergame performance (p = 0.017–0.033, ηp2 = 0.127–0.193). Conclusion The study demonstrates that the additional stepping exergame training effectively and sustainably improves the performance in complex motor-cognitive stepping exergame tasks in older adults, which can be relevant for preventing falls. Future research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of such training on reducing the number of falls. Trial registration ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN14855620, 06/06/2019 (retrospectively registered).

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