Augumentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) based on the cognition of the eldrly with dementia and characteristics of family caregivers

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K00214
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cognitive science
• Research Institution: Kyoto Gakuen University
• Principal Investigator: Yoshimura Takako 京都学園大学, 健康医療学部, 准教授 (40454673)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 岩田 まな 新潟リハビリテーション大学(大学院), 大学院高次脳機能障害コース, 客員教授 (70146273)
• Research Collaborator: SAITO Akie ; OSAWA Aiko
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 認知症 / 拡大・代替コミュニケーション / AAC / 認知機能 / 家族介護者

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We studied how to alterate communication strategy to persuit well-being of communication in dementia and reduce burden of family caregivers of the elderly with dementia. We investigated how to integrate cognitive dysfunctions in dementia and characteristics of familiy caregivers to intervene communication between the elderly with dementia and their family caregivers.
We found a significant correlation between memory decline and discourse abilities, one of the indices of communicative abilites, in normal elderly. On the contrary, in dementia spontaneous word retrieval and discourse ablities were significantly correlated. Moreover, it was also elucidated that the burden of family caregivers were accumulated by discourse disablities. Communication is interactive, therefore it is important to intervene not only the elderly with dementia but family caregivers.

Free Research Field

認知神経心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

認知症へのコミュニケーション介入では，認知機能の状態が違うにもかかわらず，同じ方法で介入を行い，認知機能の個別性に対応したコミュニケーション支援をしているとは言い難い現状がある。さらに，認知症の家族介護者の介護負担感に注目した研究は多いが，認知症の認知特性と家族介護者のコミュニケーション方法をまとめた報告は少ない。
本研究は，別々に取り扱われることが多かった認知特性研究と家族介護者研究を融合した点で学術的新規性がある。さらに，進行性の病態である認知症であっても，現状維持のみではなく，人としての豊かさを支援する方法がコミュニケーションの観点から可能であることを示した点が，社会的意義と考える。