None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
With the substantial increase of dementia in older adults, robot-assisted intervention using Paro would be a potential alternative intervention for older people with mild to moderate dementia in improving moods and encouraging social interaction and communication, therefore improving patients’ quality of life and reducing caregivers, nursing / healthcare worker loads. The information obtained will pave the way for a larger randomized controlled trial, one that might provide high-quality evidence regarding the value of such therapy. This evidence will promote the awareness to health professionals that robot-assisted therapy using Paro is a useful behaviour intervention in older people with mild to moderate dementia and could be incorporated as part of routine programs amongst the elderly in both community care and hospital settings in Hong Kong.
Interventions
Subjects assigned to the intervention group will be invited to participate in the robot-assisted intervention once a week over a 6 week period (max: 30 minutes per session) provided by a trained research assistant/occupational therapist who is familiar with the Paro user manual. In each session, a structured, small-group approach in which a group of four subjects will be arranged to sit around a table with Paro in the centre and will be invited to interact with Paro. The intervention will involv
Subjects assigned to the intervention group will be invited to participate in the robot-assisted intervention once a week over a 6 week period (max: 30 minutes per session) provided by a trained research assistant/occupational therapist who is familiar with the Paro user manual. In each session, a structured, small-group approach in which a group of four subjects will be arranged to sit around a table with Paro in the centre and will be invited to interact with Paro. The intervention will involve six stages/themes (Introduction of Paro, Baby-sitting Paro, Grooming Paro, Feeding Paro, Making over Paro, and Wardrobe Paro).
Sponsors
Ruby Yu
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
60 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Community-living older adults aged 60 years and above will be screened using the Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE). Those who score between 10 and 24 with a diagnosis of dementia will be screened for eligibility to the study. Diagnosis of dementia will be based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Severity of dementia will be determined using Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). Subjects with mild to moderate dementia (CDR 1 or 2) will be further assessed for the presence of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) using Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI). Only subjects without BPSD will be invited to participate.
Exclusion criteria
Those who exhibit any BPSD (CMAI total score greater than or equal to 2) will be excluded from the study. Subjects will also be excluded if they have medical conditions severe enough to affect the patient’s ability to complete the treatment course and/or follow-up.
Outcome results
None listed