Cognitive Stimulation Program in Assisted Living Settings: Important Considerations and Findings From a 5-Week Program

Purpose: With the growth of the geriatric population, more people may develop either mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia later in life worldwide. Health care professionals, including speech-language pathologists, must examine the possible benefits of cognitive interventions to help delay and/or minimize the effects of cognitive deficits among older adults. Therefore, the current study provides an overview of cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) programs that can be administered in medical settings, including assisted living facilities. In addition, the study includes findings from a 5-week CST program in an assisted living facility. Method: The current study included three participants with mild cognitive deficits and six participants with moderate–severe cognitive deficits. The CST program was administered twice a week, with each session lasting 50 min. The study included a pre–post comparison of participants' cognition, naming, reading, self-reported depression, and self-reported quality-of-life scores. Results: Although there were no statistically significant differences, descriptive analyses showed that all participants with mild cognitive deficits and some with moderate–severe cognitive deficits demonstrated relatively improved cognitive scores at the end of the 5-week CST program. Finally, correlational analysis indicated a significant positive correlation between cognitive scores, naming, and reading scores at baseline and post-CST program. Conclusions: The current study provides evidence for the CST program in improving cognition and depression among participants in an assisted living facility. Additional studies with larger sample sizes would help generalize the impact of CST programs.