Effects of Community Based Group Validation Therapy on Depression, Quality of Life, Behavioral Problems, and Cognitive Function in Patients with Dementia

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a community based group validation therapy program developed to promote positive behavioral and emotional outcomes in community-dwelling Korean patients with dementia. Methods: A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used to measure the effects of the program on the behavior and emotions of patients with dementia. Participants in a validation therapy program were 33 patients who attended 10 weekly sessions of approximately 50 minutes each. Effects were evaluated through pre and post tests that included measurement of depression (SGDS-K), quality of life (GQOL-D), behavioral problems (NPI-Q), and cognitive function (MMSE-KC). The study variables were analyzed using x 2-test and t-test with the SPSS statistical package. Results: For the participants, a statistically significant reduction in depression and behavioral problems was found, as well as a significant increase in quality of life. However, no significant changes in cognitive function were revealed. Conclusion: Findings indicate that validation therapy reduces symptoms of depression and behavioral problems in older adults with dementia. It, therefore, can be considered as a program to improve quality of life in this population. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 서 론 1. 연구의 필요성 인구의 고령화로 인하여 치매 환자는 급속히 증가하고 있 으며 최근에는 중요한 사회적 문제가 되고 있다[1]. 치매는 다 른 노인성 질병에 비해 처음에는 건망증과 같은 가벼운 인지 장애로 시작되지만 시간이 지날수록 인지기능 장애와 함께 다 양한 정신행동증상과 신경학적인 증상을 유발하여 독립적인 생활능력과 인간으로서의 최소한의 존엄성까지도 잃게 만드