Meaningful Activity Engagement in Dementia: Concepts and Strategies

Abstract

Meaningful activity engagement is a crucial aspect of health and well-being and is a top identified unmet need in those living with dementia. When needs go unmet in dementia due to an individual's own decreasing abilities to care for oneself and to communicate their needs, disease process can speed up and overall quality of life can decrease.This presentation will first explore a conceptual model that defines what constitutes a meaningful activity, identifying and explaining 5 key term descriptors: 1) enjoyable, 2) suited to a person's skills and preferences, 3) related to personally relevant goals, 4) engaging, and 5) related to an aspect of identity.We will then explore how 2 theoretical frameworks can be used to understand how to enhance client-centered activity engagement in dementia care:The first model, the Person-Environment-Occupation model, posits that the interaction between person's individual skills (cognitive, physical), their environment (physical, social, cultural), and their occupations (functional activity in which the individual engages) determines meaningful participation.A second model, the Comprehensive Process Model of Engagement, which was developed to assess activity engagement in individuals with dementia, also posits that characteristics of the person, the stimulus (aka occupation or activity), and the environment affect engagement, which can then improve affect and reduce difficult behaviors associated with dementia.Finally, this presentation will explore recommendations on how to enhance activity engagement in dementia based on a mediation model of activity modification strategies, with evidence supporting the following adaptations: 1) modifications to objects and property, 2) modifications to space demands, 3) modifications to social demands.