Performance in Maze board game to assess elderly people– pilot study

Abstract

The aging of the Portuguese population is an increasingly present reality in Portugal. In this process, it is natural to identify some functional decline and the decreased autonomy in Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s). The assessment of physical and cognitive abilities reveals to be extremely important for the elderly. Objective: To characterize the Maze Game skill as an indicator of functional mobility, cognitive ability and fear of falling in elderly people with social response. Methodology: A convenience sample of 13 individuals with a mean age of 80.92 ± 6.24 years was selected, with preserved walking ability in short distances. The following instruments were implemented: the Timed up and Go (TUG) to assess functional mobility; the Six-Item Cognitive Impairment Test (6-CIT) to assess cognitive ability; the Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) to assess fear of fall; and the Maze. Results: The correlations obtained were strong between functional mobility (TUG) and the performance of the Maze game (r=0.765; p=0.002), the cognitive capacity (6-CIT) and the performance of the Maze game (r=0.622; p =0.023), fear of falling (FES) and the performance of the Maze game (r=0.666; p=0.013). Conclusion: The study’s results demonstrate high potential considering the Maze Game as an instrument to assess functional mobility, cognitive ability and fear of falling. Future works should include broader samples, with elderly people inserted in the community.