Designed by TheTemplateMart.com EVALUATING RESULTS OF A 6 MONTH INTERVENTION PROGRAM IN A DEMENTIA DAY CARE CENTER Efthymiou, A., Karpathiou, N., Dimakopoulou, E., Nikolaou, K., Sakka, P. ATHENS ASSOCIATION OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND RELATED DISORDERS

demented patients in Greece 89% of patients cared for at home Principal caregivers Dementia in Greece DEMENTIA SURVEY, Greece 2005 spouse (32%) children (50%) 15 Memory Clinics organised from Neurology departments of General Hospitals 7 Day Care Centers

Dementia Day Care Center in Athens Since February 2007, a Dementia Day Center for patients suffering from dementia and their families has opened in Athens. The project is supported by European Social Funds (3 rd Community Support Framework) and the Greek Ministry of Health with the responsibility of the Athens Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders.

Dementia Day Care Center in Athens AIMS: 1.Training, help and support of patients suffering from Dementia (cognitive training, physical exercise, occupational therapy, art therapy) 2.Education and support of carers 3.Advocacy of patients’ and carers’ rights and needs 4.Increase of public awareness 5.Scientific research on Dementia

Memory Clinic Dementia Day Care Center Cognitive training Groups / Reminiscence sessions Occupational Therapy/ Language Therapy Support groups For Caregivers Physical training programs Increase of Public Awareness Help at Home Programs Management of behavioural disorders

Health Professionals 1 Psychiatrist – Scientific Supervisor 1 Neurologist 4 Psychologists 2 Nurse 1 Social Worker 1 Speech and Language Therapist 2 Assistant Personnel

Scheduling Therapeutic Intervention Physical examination Neuropsychological Assessment Functional Assessment Case History

Therapeutic framework Cognitive Training and Cognitive Stimulation Cognitive training consists of a variety of exercises designed to help improve functioning in areas such as attention, memory, visual and auditory processing, language process, thinking skills and executive skills

Patients were divided in 4 levels (8 groups- A, B, C, D), according to their cognitive and functional status, social skills and educational level Each group consisted of 8 – 10 members and was run by 2 coordinators The frequency of intervention was twice a week and every session lasted 50’ The total number of participants was 75 Results of the intervention are presented for 65 participants. Statistical analysis was made with SPSS 13.0 Method

Method Neuropsychological Assessment Test Administration: Neuropsychological tests: MINI MENTAL STATE EXAMINATION CLOCK DRAWING TEST (CDT) GERIATRIC DEPRESSION SCALE (GDS) MONTREAL COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT (MOCA) BOSTON NAMING TEST- 15SH (BNT) FRONTAL ASSESSMENT BATTERY (FAB) VERBAL AND CATEGORY FLUENCY STROOP TEST REY COMPLEX FIGURE Period of Intervention: 6 months Reassessement: Test readministration

RESULTS

Results GROUP A Neuropsychological assessment t Sig. (2-tailed) MOCA_pre – MOCA_post -5,27,000 BNT_pre – BNT_post -2,95,009 VERBL Fl._pre-VERBAL Fl._post -4,32,000 CATEGORY Fl._pre- CATEGORY Fl._post -2,19,039 REYDELAYEDREC _pre – REYDELAYEDREC- post -2,11,046

Results Group B & C In group B & C analysis, there was no statistical significance between pre and post intervention

In group D, there was a statistically significant difference (p= 0.17, p= 0,35) in post and pre intervention for the Category Fluency and Rey Complex Figure (copy condition) Patients of that group had lower scores at post intervention assessment Results Group D Neuropsychological assessmentΖ Sig. (2-tailed) _ Categ Fl _Categ Fl_post -2.38(b).017 REY copy_ REY copy_post -2.11(b).035

Conclusions The Dementia Day Care Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment and early Dementia seems to benefit more from a well structured non-pharmachological program than patients in more severe stages of Dementia. Patients in medium and severe stage had a qualitative improvement in social abilities, mood, eye contact that couldn’t be depicted in neuropsychological assessment. In a following research it is essential the Quality of Life of Caregivers of Demented Patients is measured.

PHOTOS

Nomiki Karpathiou Eleni Dimakopoulou Efstathios Tryfonopoulos Theofilos Krasakis Danai Kavouridi Lena Margioti Nandia Avrami Kartsaklis Lykourgos Kostas Nikolaou Paraskevi Sakka COLLEAGUES