Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021 Feb;36(2):286-293. doi: 10.1002/gps.5421. Epub 2020 Sep 11.
The prevalence of dementia has been increasing particularly in developing countries but care provision is still limited in these regions. Psychosocial interventions are recognized as useful tools to improve cognitive and behavioral difficulties, as well as quality of life of people with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers. Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) is an evidence-based psychosocial intervention, recommended and implemented in many countries. In Brazil, there is no validated psychosocial intervention for dementia care. The present study aims to explore feasibility and obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of CST-Brasil in a sample of 47 people with mild to moderate dementia attending an outpatient unit.
A single-blind design was used, with participants being randomly allocated to either 14 sessions of CST + treatment as usual (TAU; n = 23) or TAU (n = 24) during 7 weeks. Changes in cognition, quality of life, depressive symptoms, caregiver burden and functionality were measured.
PwD receiving CST and their family caregivers expressed good acceptance of the intervention, with low attrition and high attendance. Participants receiving CST exhibited significant improvements in mood and in activities of daily living compared to TAU. There were no significant effects in cognition, quality of life and caregiver burden.
CST-Brasil proved to be a feasible and useful intervention to improve mood in PwD, with high acceptance between study participators. CST-Brasil is a promising psychosocial intervention for dementia and should be explored in other clinical settings to allow generalization to a wider Brazilian context.
痴呆症的患病率一直在上升，尤其是在发展中国家，但这些地区的护理服务仍然有限。心理社会干预被认为是改善痴呆症患者（PwD）及其照顾者认知和行为困难以及生活质量的有用工具。认知刺激疗法（CST）是一种基于证据的心理社会干预措施，在许多国家得到推荐和实施。在巴西，没有针对痴呆症护理的经过验证的心理社会干预措施。本研究旨在探索 CST-Brasil 在一个 47 名轻度至中度痴呆症门诊患者样本中的可行性，并获得其疗效的初步数据。
采用单盲设计，将参与者随机分配到 14 节 CST+常规治疗（TAU；n=23）或 TAU（n=24）中，持续 7 周。测量认知、生活质量、抑郁症状、照顾者负担和功能的变化。
接受 CST 的 PwD 和他们的家庭照顾者对干预措施表示出良好的接受度，失访率和出勤率均较低。与 TAU 相比，接受 CST 的参与者在情绪和日常生活活动方面有显著改善。认知、生活质量和照顾者负担方面没有显著影响。
CST-Brasil 被证明是一种可行且有用的干预措施，可以改善 PwD 的情绪，研究参与者之间的接受度很高。CST-Brasil 是一种有前途的痴呆症心理社会干预措施，应在其他临床环境中进行探索，以允许推广到更广泛的巴西背景。
