Implementation of the Montessori Program in Assisted Living: Positive Outcomes and Challenges

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the implementation of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Montessori for Dementia and Aging (1) (MDA) program in a memory care Assisted Living community.A pre-post quasi experimental descriptive study was conducted with 29 elders in an assisted living community.The AMI MDA program1 was implemented over the course of one year; adoption of program features was documented pre-and post-implementation.Outcomes for elders included number of neuropsychiatric symptoms due to dementia (Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (2)), falls, medications and hospitalizations; attitude, attention and engagement (Observational Measure of Engagement (3)), affect (Observed Emotion Rating Scale (4)); and the Dementia Quality of Life Scale (5).The Benjamin Rose Nurse Assistant Job Satisfaction Scale (6) was used to measure employee job satisfaction before and after implementation of the program.After 1 year, the community had adopted 68% of program features compared to 28% at study start.Elders displayed significantly more positive emotions, affect, and feelings of self-esteem and belonging after the intervention; positive trends were documented for increased engagement.Overall, employee job satisfaction was higher after the implementation of the program; barriers to full implementation, however, were identified.