Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of shelter of dementia, consisting of
physical activities, cognitive training, and social interaction activities, on the cognitive function
and depression level in elderly people in community
Methods : The study was carried out from March, 2015 to August, 2015. We executed a shelter of dementia
for 10 sessions. The subjects included 32 elderly people in community who underwent
eight 120 min. intervention sessions once a week. In the first and tenth sessions, the patients
underwent pre-tests and post-tests. We used Mini-Mental State Examination for Dementia
Screening(MMSE-DS), Self-Rated Depression Scale(SDS) as dependent measurements.
Results : The MMSE-K scores increased but not at a statistically significant rate (p>.05). The
MMSE-DS scores of the subjects was significantly increased (p<.05).
Conclusion : The results of this study show that occupational reminiscence for elderly people suffering
from dementia is a useful therapeutic approach by decreasing their depression level and increasing
cognitive functions. If occupational therapists can obtain knowledge and make a program
for occupational reminiscence therapy, research in this field will be further developed.