Exercise Workshop, Skill-Based Art Approaches, and Awareness Studies for Elderly Individuals

Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa

Status: Completed

Conditions: Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI); Elderly (People Aged 65 or More); Alzheimer Disease; Geriatric Rehabilitation; Dementia

Treatments: Other: Healthy aging interventions

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07016893

2024/112

Details and patient eligibility

About

Purpose: The aim of the project is to contribute to the physical, social, and psychological well-being of elderly individuals with cognitive impairment within a multidisciplinary approach framework, and to increase the level of knowledge and awareness about diseases and aging by organizing exercise, art, and education workshops under the guidance of expert health and art professionals.

Scope and Target Group: Cognitive impairment affects daily life activities by impacting cognitive abilities such as memory, attention, and concentration. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Dementia, and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) are common cognitive impairments in the elderly. Early prevention strategies and intervention measures during this period are crucial. It is known that non-pharmacological interventions, especially in the early stages of MCI, are a window of opportunity that is promising and cost-effective. The primary target audience of this project is elderly individuals diagnosed with MCI, Dementia, and AD. To maximize the impact, some of the planned training sessions included family members of patients.

Method and Expected Results: The project carried out in collaboration with Balıkesir University and Balıkesir Altıeylül Municipality. Various exercise and art workshops organized. Workshop activities conducted for eight weeks and included an Exercise Workshop (music-based exercises, exercise with active video games, clinical Pilates training, cognitive exercise therapy approach, Nordic walking, dance therapy), Skill-Oriented Art Workshop (systemic calligraphy therapy, soap-candle making workshop, culinary arts workshop), and Disease Awareness Studies (disease awareness information and education, the process from diagnosis to acceptance, experiences of patients and relatives, use of daily life technologies, home adjustments against falls, introduction of municipal services for the elderly).

Enrollment: 37 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Being over 65 years of age
• Having one of the diagnoses of MCI, dementia, or Alzheimer's by a neurologist or geriatrician
• Having less than 27 points on the Mini Mental State Examination (Zhuang et al., 2021).
• Being between stages 2-5 on the Global Impairment Scale.

Exclusion criteria

• Having a pulmonary, neurological, musculoskeletal, or rheumatological disease that may prevent exercise
• Having balance problems or lower extremity asymmetry at a level that may prevent exercise
• Individuals with unstable medical conditions (uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension, deep vein thrombosis, etc.)
• Having vision or hearing problems at a level that will prevent participation in workshops

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

37 participants in 1 patient group

Exercise, art, awareness group

Experimental group

Description:

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an important risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Hwang and Lee, 2017). The literature emphasizes that the prevalence of MCI and AD will continue to increase and draws attention to this area (Realdon et al., 2016). The MCI stage, which is the most active part of AD, provides a "window of opportunity" for the prevention and treatment of AD (Wu, 2020). Early prevention strategies are considered important, especially during this period. Improving the individual's cognitive functions and reducing symptoms in the MCI stage will reduce the incidence of AD, thereby reducing healthcare costs and improving the individual's condition and quality of life (Jak, 2012). Since AD is irreversible and faces significant treatment challenges, the key to preventing and treating the disease is to take early prevention and intervention measures (Zhang et al., 2021). When considering these interventions, focus is placed on potentially modifiable risk factors that ma

Treatment:

Other: Healthy aging interventions