Memory stimulation training and the functionality of the elderly without cognitive impairment: An integrative review

Abstract

The scope of this article is to identify the repercussions of the effect of memory stimulation in healthy elderly individuals. It is an integrative review of the literature, namely of articles published in the last seven years in English, Por-tuguese and Spanish. The selection was performed through cross-checking of key words: health of the elderly, memory and cognition in the Lilacs, Med-line and IBECS databases. The inclusion criteria were: original article; addressing key issue; full text electronically available; population 60 years and above without diagnosis of cognitive impairment. Twelve articles were selected and it was identified that the effect of memory stimulation in the elderly without cognitive impairment can improve performance in advanced, instrumental and basic activities of daily living and in psychological, social and quality of life components in the elderly. Based on analysis of the articles it is important to emphasize the need for further longitudinal and intervention studies focused on cognitive stimulation in the elderly without cognitive impairment and that future research can overcome such limitations by working towards efficient monitoring and evaluation, which is more rigorous and com-mitted to facilitate the cognitive performance of the elderly in daily activities.