Effect of the Brain-activation rehabilitation in a Geriatric Health Service Facility, <i>Roken</i>:Group rehabilitation improved severity of dementia and maintained subjective quality of life in the RCT study

Effect of the Brain-activation rehabilitation in a Geriatric Health Service Facility, Roken:Group rehabilitation improved severity of dementia and maintained subjective quality of life in the RCT study

Tetsuya Yamagami¹⁾, Ryouhei Horikoshi²⁾, Soukichi Tanaka²⁾, Haruyasu Yamaguchi³⁾

¹⁾School of Health Care, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare
²⁾Geriatric Health Services Facility Shirasaginosato
³⁾Gunnma University Graduate School of Health Sciences

    ［Purpose］　We aimed to prove the effective way of rehabilitation in a Geriatric Health Service Facility, Roken.
    ［Subjects and Methods］  We carried out a randomized controlled trial that was not blinded.  Twenty three elderly participants (mean age:84.0 years) in a Geriatric Health Services Facility were selected according to inclusion criteria.  In intervention group (n=12), group sessions were for 1 h, once a week, for 12 weeks, and based on the 5 principles of Brain-activating rehabilitation:pleasant atmosphere, praising, communication, social role, and supportive care.  The control group (n=11) had no additional treatment.  Outcome measures consisted of three observation scales (CDR-SB, MOSES and QOL-AD), and three cognitive test (HDS-R, MMSE and TMT-A).
    ［Results］　Repeated measure ANCOVA with covariates of age and sex showed a significant interaction for total score of CDR-SB (F=5.972, p=0.027) and QOL-AD (F=4.911, p=0.043).　In the intervention group, overall severity was significantly improved (p=0.039), and subjective QOL was maintained.　In the control group, subjective QOL tended to worsen.　Other outcome measures didn't show a significant interaction.
    ［Conclusion］　Rehabilitation in a group, based on the 5 principles of Brain-activating rehabilitation, was effective to improve overall dementia severity and maintain QOL in the Geriatric Health Services Facility.
Key words: dementia, Geriatric Health Service Facility, rehabilitation, quality of life, randomized controlled trial

Address correspondence to Dr. Tetsuya Yamagami, School of Health Care, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare (501 Nakaorui-machi, Takasaki, Gunma 370-0033, Japan)