Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Over 16% of the total population of Thailand is over sixty years old and it is expected to become an aged society in 2021. Dementia is a very common condition in the elderly especially in the dependent group and affects the quality of their life. The purpose of this research was to develop a brain training model to prevent dementia among the elderly and to test the effectiveness of Brain Training Box for Dementia Prevention in elderly (BT-Box for DPE). The research and development processes were divided into two phases: Phase1, the evidence of dementia prevention were systematically reviewed for model developing appropriate with Thai elderly. Phase2, Thirty Elderly ADL score 5-11 dwelling in Nonthaburi Municipality were conveniently selected to participate in the study based on G*Power Analysis. One group pre-post test design was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the BT-Box. TH-SLUMs test (CVI=0.93, =0.99) modified from the St Louis University Mental Status were used for dementia risk evaluation. The satisfaction data of the elderly and their relatives towards the BT-Box and focus group among care providers were collected using instructional interviewing questions. The findings showed that using the BT-Box composed of games that promote concentration, observation, aptitude, and memory as well as music therapy decreased the risk of dementia in elderly statistically significant at .05. Elderly care providers should encourage their elderly to train their brain continuously within the relaxing atmosphere without pressure. In addition, using BT-Box can also promote social interaction within the family.