A study on a system construction of dementia-community conducted in parallel with family care support program

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K02300
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 08030:Family and consumer sciences, and culture and living-related
• Research Institution: Osaka Metropolitan University (2022-2023); Osaka City University (2019-2021)
• Principal Investigator: Shinoda Miki 大阪公立大学, 大学院生活科学研究科, 教授 (10285299)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 認知症 / 家族介護 / 回想法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to create a communication system that would enable elderly people with dementia and their caregivers to maintain a daily, long-term network of care support. However, due to the spread of COVID-19, the project was canceled in February 2020, and the research objective of building a community system could not be achieved. Analysis of the effectiveness of psychological interventions for elderly people with dementia in the first half of the project showed that the program improved frontal lobe assessment battery scores in those under 75 years of age and orientation item scores in those over 75 years of age after a six-month intervention in mild Alzheimer's dementia. This suggests once again that efforts to continue supporting these maintained functions are important.

Free Research Field

臨床心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

認知症初期は疾患の進行により中核症状である見当識や記憶機能の低下が指摘されており、心理支援の効果が知能検査などの改善データとして示されることはなかった。しかし本研究の介入成果からは、見当識や記憶を中心とした評価指標（HDS-R・MMSE)とは異なる前頭葉機能評価指標（FAB)に介入の効果が認められた。本結果から、軽度アルツハイマー型認知症の場合、中核症状による記憶低下や見当識障害は避けられないが、支援プログラムに6か月継続参加することで、計算機能などに顕される前頭葉機能の維持の可能性があり、中核症状の進行を認めながらも長期に渡って行う心理支援の必要性と可能性が明らかになった。