The effect of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) groups for dementia on participant’s attitudes to ageing: A practice-based study

Abstract

This practice-based study investigated the effects of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) in everyday NHS clinical settings on both routine outcomes and attitudes to ageing. This is important given that negative ageist beliefs have been linked to decline in health and wellbeing among older people, especially those with a dementia diagnosis. A quantitative pre-test/post-test design was used to evaluate changes in participant outcomes for cognition, quality of life and ageing attitudes. A total of 82 CST participants with mild to moderate dementia were included in the study. Significant improvements on measures of quality of life and attitudes to ageing were found pre- to post-CST, and a holding pattern of no change was observed for cognition. A significant positive correlation was established between ageing attitudes and quality of life. Demographic characteristics were not found to have an influence on the treatment effects of CST. These findings provide additional evidence that CST can produce routine improvements in clinical practice settings that are equally applicable across age and gender. Of clinical significance is the finding that CST improves the attitudes to ageing of older people with dementia, as this is the first time it has been empirically studied. This further highlights the potential of CST as a de-stigmatising, positive ageing intervention.