Montessori Based Activities for Dementia

Food and Health Bureau, Hong Kong

Status: Completed

Conditions: Dementia

Treatments: Behavioral: Usual care; Behavioral: Montessori Method for Dementia

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04352387

SA2019

Details and patient eligibility

About

The objectives of this study are to examine the feasibility of a culturally-adapted group-based Montessori Method for Dementia program in Chinese community and examine its effects on engagement and affect in community-dwelling people with dementia.

Full description

People who were aged 60 years or over and with mild to moderate dementia were recruited from six community centres and three care homes. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group to attend the Montessori-based activities or the comparison group to attend the conventional group activities for one hour twice per week over eight weeks. All sessions were videotaped to facilitate analysis. Observations of engagement and affect were conducted for each intervention session on the individual participant for a ten-minute period at the beginning, middle, and end of the activity in order to have observations from multiple time points. The Menorah Park Engagement Scale and the Apparent Affect Rating Scale were used to assess the engagement and affect during the activities based on observations.

Enrollment: 108 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 60+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• with a diagnosis of dementia at a stage 3 to 5 on the global deterioration scale (GDS)

Exclusion criteria

• were joining any other dementia training activities
• would highly likely present a hazard to others through disruptive behaviors
• proxy consent could not be obtained

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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108 participants in 2 patient groups

Montessori Method for Dementia

Experimental group

Description:

The design of the Montessori Method for Dementia program covered five aspects, namely cognitive stimulation, life skills, motor movements and fitness, sensory stimulation, and socialization. Each 1-hour session included two to three activities tailored to the local cultural context.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Montessori Method for Dementia

Usual care

Active Comparator group

Description:

Activities delivered regularly in the usual care, such as reading out newspapers, physical activities, and watching videos, in the 1-hour sessions.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Usual care