Impact of a Memory Group for Older Adults Reporting Memory Difficulties

Alzheimer's Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment

Alzheimer's disease, Mild cognitive impairment, Memory intervention, Strategy use, Memory group

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of a brief intensive intervention for persons with mild cognitive impairment, assisted by family members or friends. To equip persons with mild cognitive impairment with specific skills to prevent memory failures and improve the capacity of patients and families to cope with everyday memory difficulties.

Participants: The sample will consist of 60 families who have a family member reporting memory loss and who have recently been assessed within the Cognitive Dementia and Memory Service (CDAMS). Participants will include patients and a family member / close friend. The potential patient participants must have received a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment following a comprehensive clinical assessment. They must also be English speakers, live in the community, have no evidence of significant visual or auditory impairment, and have no history of diagnosed alcohol or drug abuse or major psychological disorder. Potential family / friend participants are expected to be spouses or adult children. Brief Description: Patients and their carers will be assigned to either a 'brief intervention group' or a 'no intervention group'. Over 5 1 1/2 -hour weekly sessions, the brief intervention group will be taught a memory skills program which emphasises practical strategies for dealing with everyday memory problems. Interactive group discussion and 'take home' exercises are also included. The no intervention group will serve as a control group, and will receive only their usual care from the the memory clinic. At the completion of the study, the brief intervention will be offered to those in the no intervention group. All participants will complete questionnaires about knowledge of memory techniques, common memory and behaviour problems and emotional health at pre-intervention, post-intervention and after a 3-month follow-up. Methods of Data Analysis: Outcome evaluation will be monitored by neuropsychological assessments of memory performance, and subjective self-reports. A 2 x 3 multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) will be used to assess differences on the experimental measures between groups (brief intervention, no intervention) across repeated assessment phases (pre-intervention, post-intervention, 3-month follow-up).

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