Sautter Scott W, Ord Anna S, Azher Aisha, Chidester Amy, Aravich Paul F
Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, USA.
Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, USA.
Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2021 Feb 1;7:2333721421992996. doi: 10.1177/2333721421992996. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.
Two pilot studies aimed to determine the effects of individual computer engagement on behavioral health outcomes in individuals with dementia. The focus was on participants' mental health, challenging behaviors, antipsychotic medications, and professional caregiver stress. Two pilot randomized control trials were conducted. First trial involved residents with advanced dementia in a long-term care facility. The second trial involved residents with mild dementia in an assisted living setting. The participants in the experimental group in both studies were provided with guided iN2L computer engagement followed by unrestricted use. Statistically reliable improvements were found in both studies for participants' emotional well-being and professional caregiver stress. Reliable improvements in cognition and depression were found in the mild dementia study, but not in the advanced dementia study. No statistically reliable changes were observed for antipsychotic medications or challenging behaviors. Computer engagement was associated with improvements in participants' emotional well-being and with a reduction in professional caregiver stress. Results should be interpreted with caution in the context of high attrition. Future studies may build upon these pilot findings and examine effects of technology use on mood and cognition in larger samples of older adults across a wider range of outcome measures.
两项试点研究旨在确定个人使用电脑对痴呆症患者行为健康结果的影响。重点关注参与者的心理健康、攻击性行为、抗精神病药物使用情况以及专业护理人员的压力。进行了两项试点随机对照试验。第一项试验涉及一家长期护理机构中患有晚期痴呆症的居民。第二项试验涉及一家辅助生活机构中患有轻度痴呆症的居民。两项研究中实验组的参与者都接受了iN2L电脑使用指导，之后可自由使用。两项研究均发现，参与者的情绪健康和专业护理人员的压力有统计学上可靠的改善。在轻度痴呆症研究中发现认知和抑郁有可靠的改善，但在晚期痴呆症研究中未发现。抗精神病药物使用情况或攻击性行为未观察到统计学上可靠的变化。使用电脑与参与者情绪健康的改善以及专业护理人员压力的减轻有关。鉴于高损耗率，结果应谨慎解读。未来的研究可以基于这些试点研究结果，在更广泛的结果测量范围内，对更大样本的老年人研究技术使用对情绪和认知的影响。
