Abstract
BackgroundResearch in nursing homes mainly focused on interventions for residents affected by cognitive decline. Few studies have considered healthy older adults living in nursing homes, and this research targeted cognitive functioning.AimsTo evaluate whether socio-cognitive abilities can be improved by means of a theory of mind (ToM) training conducted by nursing home’s operators.MethodsResultsResults revealed that older adults benefitted from the ToM intervention in both practiced and non-practiced tasks, while the control group showed no change from pre- to post-test evaluation. Analyses on errors scores indicated that the ToM intervention led to a reduction of both excessive mentalizing and absence of mental states inference.DiscussionThe conversation-based ToM intervention proved to be effective in improving socio-cognitive skills in cognitively healthy nursing home residents. Notably, older adults were able to transfer the skills acquired during the training to new material.ConclusionsPromoting healthy resident’s ToM ability could positively impact on their social cognition, consequently increasing their quality of life. Our findings showed that the intervention can be feasibly managed by health care assistants within the residential context.
Highlights
As the number of older adults in the world is increasing, there will be a commensurate increase in the demand for nursing homes (NH)
The present study was designed to test the effectiveness of an intervention promoting socio-cognitive abilities in healthy older adults living in a NH, administered via conversationbased theory of mind (ToM) training
The ToM training was compared with an active control training, in which participants did cognitive exercises with no specific focus on mental states reasoning
Summary
As the number of older adults in the world is increasing, there will be a commensurate increase in the demand for nursing homes (NH). 20013 Magenta, MI, Italy 5 Korian, Viale Cassala 16, 20143 Milan, Italy and cognitive disease, other NH residents present a physiological cognitive decline. Both the clinical and non-clinical populations of older people resident in NH need to be involved in stimulating activities, as they tend to be inactive and engage in sedentary activities for most of the day [1]. Research has mainly focused on interventions for NH residents affected by cognitive decline, such as dementia [2]. Research in nursing homes mainly focused on interventions for residents affected by cognitive decline. Few studies have considered healthy older adults living in nursing homes, and this research targeted cognitive functioning. Discussion The conversation-based ToM intervention proved to be effective in improving socio-cognitive skills in cognitively healthy nursing home residents. Our findings showed that the intervention can be feasibly managed by health care assistants within the residential context
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