La Rue Asenath, Felten Kristen, Duschene Kathie, MacFarlane Dana, Price Susan, Zimmerman Suanne, Hafez Stephanie
Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Semin Speech Lang. 2013 Aug;34(3):170-84. doi: 10.1055/s-0033-1358370. Epub 2013 Oct 28.
Interventions that stimulate and engage individuals with dementia physically, cognitively, and socially offer promise for improving health and well-being and for potentially slowing functional losses with disease progression. We describe a volunteer-based intervention that combines physical exercise, cognitive-linguistic stimulation, and social outings for older persons living with dementia in rural communities. One-year follow-up data, although clearly preliminary (n = 8), suggest stability in global cognition, mood, and aspects of physical fitness. Challenges to implementing dementia interventions in rural areas are discussed.
