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The impact of individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (iCST) on cognition, quality of life, caregiver health, and family relationships in dementia : a randomized controlled trial

Orrell, Martin; Yates, Lauren; Leung, Phuong; Kang, Sujin; Hoare, Zoe; Whitaker, Chris; Burns, Alistair; Knapp, Martin; Leroi, Iracema; Moniz-Cook, Esme; Pearson, Stephen; Simpson, Stephen; Spector, Aimee; Roberts, Steven; Russell, Ian; de Waal, Hugo; Woods, Robert T.; Orgeta, Vasiliki

Authors

Martin Orrell

Lauren Yates

Phuong Leung

Sujin Kang

Zoe Hoare

Chris Whitaker

Alistair Burns

Martin Knapp

Iracema Leroi

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Professor Esme Moniz-Cook E.D.Moniz-Cook@hull.ac.uk
Professor of Clinical Psychology of Ageing and Dementia Care Research/ Dementia Research Work Group Lead

Stephen Pearson

Stephen Simpson

Aimee Spector

Steven Roberts

Ian Russell

Hugo de Waal

Robert T. Woods

Vasiliki Orgeta



Contributors

Carol Brayne
Editor

Abstract

Background Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is a well-established group psychosocial intervention for people with dementia. There is evidence that homebased programmes of cognitive stimulation delivered by family caregivers may benefit both the person and the caregiver. However, no previous studies have evaluated caregiver-delivered CST. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based, caregiver-led individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (iCST) program in (i) improving cognition and quality of life (QoL) for the person with dementia and (ii) mental and physical health (wellbeing) for the caregiver. Methods and Findings A single-blind, pragmatic randomized trial (RCT) at eight study sites across the UK. The intervention and blinded assessment of outcomes were conducted in participants’ homes. 356 people with mild to moderate dementia and their caregivers recruited from memory services, and community mental health teams. Participants were randomly assigned to iCST (75, 30 minute sessions) or treatment as usual (TAU) control over 25 weeks. iCST sessions consisted of themed activities designed to be mentally stimulating and enjoyable. Caregivers delivering iCST received training and support from an unblind researcher. Primary outcomes were cognition (Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – cognitive [ADAS-Cog]) and self-reported quality of life (QoL) (Quality of Life Alzheimer’s Disease [QoL-AD]) for the person with dementia, and general health status (Short Form-12 [SF-12]) for the caregiver. Secondary outcomes included: quality of the caregiving relationship from the perspectives of the person and of the caregiver (Quality of the Carer Patient Relationships Scale), and health-related QoL (EQ5D) for the caregiver. Intention to treat (ITT) analyses were conducted. At the post-test (26 weeks), there were no differences between the iCST and TAU groups in the outcomes of cognition (MD = -0·55, 95% CI -2·00 to 0·90; p=0·45), and self-reported quality of life (QoL) (MD = -0·02, 95% CI -1·22 to 0·82; p= 0·97) for people with dementia, or caregivers’ general health status (MD=0·13, 95% CI -1·65 to 1·91; p=0·89). However, people with dementia receiving iCST rated the relationship with their caregiver more positively (MD = 1·77, 95% CI 0·26 to 3·28; p=0·02) and iCST improved QoL for caregivers (EQ-5D, MD = 0·06, 95% CI 0·02 to 0·10; p=0·01). Forty percent (72/180) of dyads allocated to iCST completed at least two sessions per week, with 22% (39/180) completing no sessions at all. Study limitations include low adherence to the intervention. Conclusions There was no evidence that iCST has an effect on cognition or QoL for people with dementia. However, participating in iCST appeared to enhance the quality of the caregiving relationship and caregivers’ QoL.

Citation

Orrell, M., Yates, L., Leung, P., Kang, S., Hoare, Z., Whitaker, C., …Orgeta, V. (2017). The impact of individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (iCST) on cognition, quality of life, caregiver health, and family relationships in dementia : a randomized controlled trial. PLoS Medicine, 14(3), e1002269. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002269

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 15, 2017
Online Publication Date Mar 28, 2017
Publication Date Mar 28, 2017
Deposit Date Feb 20, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal PLOS medicine
Print ISSN 1549-1277
Electronic ISSN 1549-1676
Publisher Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 14
Issue 3
Article Number ARTN e1002269
Pages e1002269
DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002269
Keywords Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, Dementia
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/448632
Publisher URL http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002269
Additional Information This is a copy of an open access article published in PLOS medicine, 2017, v.14 issue 3.

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Copyright Statement
© 2017 Orrell et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.






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