A Study on Occupational Reminiscence Therapy(ORT) Program for the Elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment(MCI) in Local Community

Abstract

This study was conducted to apply occupational reminiscence therapy (ORT) to the elderly diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who reside in the local community and determine its effects on cognitive functions, physical health, communication and interaction skills, and depression. The participants were elderly diagnosed with MCI who visited YW community health center on a regular basis and were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received eight one hour sessions of ORT once a week. Individual interviews were then conducted with the participants to determine if an event or activity had been commonly experienced, after which the program was modified and supplemented as necessary by referring to previous programs. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated, and differences before and after ORT's were identified by paired t-tests. Moreover, the Mann-Whitney U-test was conducted to identify differences in variances between groups. Only participants in the experimental group (n=9) reported significant improvements in cognitive function, physical health status, communication and interaction skills, and depression when compared to those in the control group (n=9). Therefore, it is expected that ORT will be actively used as a non-pharmacological intervention for preventing dementia and improving the health of elderly persons with MCI.