Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Cognitive Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Declining independence in daily activities significantly impacts quality of life for individuals with dementia.
• Self-cueing, or verbalizing task-relevant information, aids task completion in children and older adults.
• Limited research exists on the self-cueing capabilities of individuals with dementia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how older adults with and without cognitive impairment maintain focus during everyday tasks.
• To compare self-cueing behaviors between cognitively impaired and unimpaired older adults.
• To identify potential targets for interventions supporting task completion in dementia.

Main Methods:

• Observational mixed-methods study involving 30 older adults (15 with cognitive impairment, 15 without).
• Participants completed household tasks (making a hot drink, making a bed, folding laundry) in a simulated home.
• Behavioral data collected via eye-tracking, video recording, physiological sensors, and field notes; cognitive function assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

Main Results:

• Participants with cognitive impairment (MoCA score: 21/30) exhibited more task interruptions and repetitions than the control group (MoCA score: 27/30).
• Control group participants visually anticipated next steps, looking ahead to relevant items.
• Eye-tracking data analysis for the cognitive impairment group is ongoing.

Conclusions:

• Difficulties with self-cueing may impair the ability of people with dementia to remain on-task during daily activities.
• Findings will inform the development of interventions to improve task completion and maintain independence in individuals with dementia.
• Interventions could potentially delay the need for external support services for daily activities.