Comparing the Effectiveness of the Frequency and Duration of the Horticultural Therapy Program on Elderly Women with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Dementia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the horticultural therapy program on patients with mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia depending on the frequency and duration of the interventions. We developed the same 15-session program to improve cognitive functions and life satisfaction and alleviate depression of the elderly women with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia. Subjects in Longer Treatment group participated in the program once a week for 15 weeks and subjects in Shorter Tratmet group participated twice a week for 7½ weeks. This study conducted pretest-posttest verification of both groups using quasi-experimental design involving 21 subjects. Elderly life satisfaction, Geriatric Depression Scale (short form), and the Korean Version of Consortium to Establish a Registry of Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-K) were used in the evaluation. As a result, both groups showed an increase in life satisfaction, and a decrease in depression. However, there was a significant difference in the changes of the CERAD-K scores between the two groups (p < .05). In Longer Treatment group, life satisfaction increased significantly (p < .001), and depression decreased at a marginally significant level (p = .068), but no statistically significant change was observed in neurocognitive function. In Shorter Treatment group, life satisfaction increased at a marginally significant level (p = .059), and depression and CERAD-K scores decreased significantly (p < .05). However, in the case of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K), there was no significant change in both groups. According to these results, when planning a horticultural therapy program for persons with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia, it is effective to organize and execute the program by determining the duration of intervention as 3 to 4 months or longer, even if this reduces the number of interventions per week.

Effectiveness of horticultural therapy in aged people with depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…We yielded a total of 7,366 articles; we eliminated 2,794 articles due to duplication, 4.503 due to irrelevant titles and abstracts, and 57 articles due to the failure to meet the criteria or unavailable full text (e.g., not people aged 60 or above, not people with depression, or not horticultural therapy). Twelve articles reporting 13 studies were finally included in this meta-analysis since two studies were from the same article ( 48 ). Six of which were RCTs and seven were quasi-experimental studies.…”

“…For example, Chu et al ( 37 ) recruited 150 participants, and Wang and Jiang ( 49 ) recruited 126 participants, with six studies including < 30 participants. Nine studies had both male and female participants, while study from McCaffrey et al ( 50 ) did not describe the gender composition of the participants, and studies from Kim ( 48 ) and Szczepanska et al ( 51 ) had only female participants. All of the aged people involved in the studies had normal cognitive function, except for Kim ( 48 ).…”

“…Nine studies had both male and female participants, while study from McCaffrey et al ( 50 ) did not describe the gender composition of the participants, and studies from Kim ( 48 ) and Szczepanska et al ( 51 ) had only female participants. All of the aged people involved in the studies had normal cognitive function, except for Kim ( 48 ). Some studies also included specific groups of people who, in addition to the depression they exhibited, may also have mild dementia ( 48 ), or memory problem ( 12 ).…”

“…All of the aged people involved in the studies had normal cognitive function, except for Kim ( 48 ). Some studies also included specific groups of people who, in addition to the depression they exhibited, may also have mild dementia ( 48 ), or memory problem ( 12 ). Ten studies involved interventions of horticultural therapy that were guided by professionals such as researchers ( 37 , 50 , 52 – 54 ), therapist ( 51 ), horticultural therapist ( 48 , 55 ), and experts ( 12 ), while three studies did not mention any information about the performer ( 49 , 56 , 57 ).…”

Horticultural Therapy Programs Enhancing Quality of Life and Reducing Depression and Burden for Caregivers of Elderly with Dementia

“…carried out in a short period of time. The total scores of depression before the program showed that both the experimental group(M = 38.50, SD = 11.75) and control group (M = 33.00, SD = 7.26) showed high depression in the range of 'Has depressive symptoms (22-60 points)'.According toSon et al (2006), long intervention periods are effective if the purpose is mental and psychological rehabilitation, andKim et al (2020) also mentioned that it was effective to apply at least 3-4 months of the program aimed at mental and psychological rehabilitation. However, this study was conducted in a relatively short period of time, twice a week for 4 weeks (about a month), which is not enough time alleviate the high level of depression among the participants.…”