EFFECTS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND CONTINUATION RATE OF A COGNITIVE INTERVENTION PROGRAM USING GO GAME. (11th November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Iizuka, A; Suzuki, H; Ogawa, S; Kobayashi, K; Kobayashi, M; Awata, S; Takebayashi, T; Fujiwara, Y
• Is Part Of: Innovation in aging. Volume 2(2018)Supplement 1
• Page Start: 245
• Page End: 245
• Publication Date: 2018-11-11
• Subjects: Aging -- Periodicals; Gerontology -- Periodicals; 612.67
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.916
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2399-5300

Abstract

Abstract: This study investigated the effect of the GO game on cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults and evaluated whether social interactions in the program influences the intervention effects. Seventy-two participants were randomly assigned to the following three groups: 1) The face-to-face (FF) group who attended twelve GO classes held once a week, 2) the tablet (TB) group who individually attended the same program as the FF group but using a tablet, and 3) the active control (AC) group who attended lectures on health. Cognitive tests were conducted before and after the intervention. We also investigated the continuation rate of GO six months after the end of the program. Analysis of covariance indicated that there were significant interactions between groups and times in both the total score of the Visual Memory Span Test (VMST) (p<.05) and the backward score (VMSB) (p<.05). Both the FF group and the TB group significantly improved in VMST (p<.05). Furthermore, the score of VMST in the FF group was significantly higher than the AC group after the intervention (p<.05), whereas there were no significant differences between the TB group and the AC group. A chi-squared test showed that the GO continuation rate of the FF group was significantly higher than the TB group (p<.05). These results suggested that this program may improve visual working memory of community-dwelling older adults. Therefore, playing games face-to-face could be more effective for cognitive function and could give more continuous motivation to play the games than playing alone.