ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of individual occupation-based reminiscence therapy (IOBRT) at home and in dementia care centers (DCC) on cognitive function (CF) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) among elderly people with mild dementia in the community. Methods: Ten elderly individuals with mild dementia were randomly assigned to five in either an experimental group (EG) or a control group (CG). The EG received IOBRT at home, and the CG received IOBRT at the DCC. IOBRT was provided for 60 minutes per session, once a week, for a total of 10 sessions. The Allen Cognitive Level Screen (ACLS) was used to measure changes in CF, and the Seoul-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (S-IADL) scale was used to evaluate IADL levels. Results: After the intervention, the EG showed significant improvement in both the ACLS and S-IADL scores, but the CG showed improvement only in the S-IADL scores. There was a significant difference between the groups in the ACLS but not in the S-IADL. Conclusion: In this pilot study, IOBRT at home was confirmed to have a short-term improvement on CF and can be used as evidence for home-visit cognitive programs in Korea.