Abstract

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of a 12-week board game intervention for seniors with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in improving cognitive functioning and scores on the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scale.

Methods: A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted to collect data from a long-term care facility in central Taiwan. Sixty-eight MCI seniorswere recruited and randomized into a board game group (trial group) and a health promotion group (control group). Participants in both groups received a 2-hour intervention once a week for 12 weeks, with the trial group receiving 12 weeks of board games and the control group receiving 12 weeks of health promotion activities. Before and after the intervention, the primary assessment was conducted using the Saint Louis University Mental Status Exam, Contextual Memory Test, and Trail Making Test part-A; the secondary assessment was conducted using the IADL scale.

Results: The results of the primary assessment indicated that the participants in the trial group showed significant differences in immediate recall and delayed recall compared to the control group (p < 0.01). The results of the secondary assessment indicated that participants in the trial group differed significantly (p < 0.01) only on the item of using the telephone compared to the control group.

Conclusions: Compared to the health-promoted MCI seniors, those who participated in the board game had significant improvements in memory (immediate recall and delayed recall), but not in IADL (except for using the telephone).