Your browser doesn't support javascript.
Virtual Chair Yoga for Stress in Older Adults with Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairments and Caregivers during COVID-19
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry ; 30(4, Supplement):S92, 2022.
Article in English | ScienceDirect | ID: covidwho-1739856
ABSTRACT
Introduction Over 700,000 Canadians are affected by dementia, costing the health care system approximately $10 billion/year. Due to COVID-19, the government has urged individuals over the age of 70 to stay home, putting this population at risk of becoming socially isolated. Those with dementia or mild cognitive impairments (MCIs) and their caregivers are at an even higher risk of becoming stressed, anxious, and agitated while in lockdown. Unsurprisingly, caregiver burden is extremely common, and often precedes institutionalization of the patient, as the demands of the illness begin to exceed that which the caregiver can sustainably provide. Since social distancing measures have shut down activities and support groups for these individuals, there is an urgent need for scalable, cost-effective, non-pharmacological interventions that can be delivered remotely to improve stress and loneliness. There are positive preliminary results examining the effects of yoga on stress suggesting it may be suitable for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. For this reason, we are conducting a randomized clinical trial (RCT) to assess the efficacy of an 8-week virtual chair yoga program. This would be the first virtual chair yoga study to engage both older adults with dementia/MCI and caregivers during COVID-19, which is consistent with the need for decreasing costs and increasing accessibility of novel health interventions during and beyond the pandemic. This study may be one viable solution to address the stress associated with the growing prevalence of dementia and the physical distancing measured associated with the COVID-19 health crisis. Methods A mixed-methods randomized controlled trial was used to assess the efficacy of an 8-week group Chair Yoga program on Zoom for older adults (60+) with dementia/MCI and their caregivers. Participants were assigned to either the treatment or waitlist control group and completed assessments at baseline and week 8. Quantitative assessments were measured at baseline and week 8, and qualitative assessments will be measured post-intervention. The primary and secondary outcomes are changes in stress and loneliness after the 8-week program, respectively. We also explored changes in anxiety, depression, caregiver burnout, fear of COVID-19, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Changes in all continuous variables from pre- to post-program will be evaluated by a Two-Way Mixed Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with the within-subjects factor of time (baseline and week 8) and between-subjects factor of condition (chair yoga treatment or control). For the qualitative component, a descriptive phenomenological approach will be used to code data into themes based on key words and on frequency/importance of these words. Results We are in the final stages of data collection. Results will be ready by December 2021. Preliminary observations suggest that this program is feasible and acceptable based on positive feedback from older adults and caregivers. Some difficulties encountered were lack of internet access, lack of devices, and scheduling conflicts, which led to individuals not participating in the study. Surprisingly, many older adults were aware and knowledgeable of the Zoom software;we experienced very minor difficulties in using this software for this population. Conclusions We expect this study to validate our hypotheses that the severity of stress, loneliness, caregiver burden, and other self-reported outcomes will significantly decrease in the treatment group compared to the waitlist control group. As such, this intervention may decrease the economic burden on the healthcare system, as it can be delivered to large groups online and is easily scalable and cost-effective. It may also be a benefit to society by potentially decreasing the number of Canadians suffering from chronic stress. Additionally, it will potentially reduce caregiver burden and delay institutionalization of individuals with dementia, the latter of which may be particularly impactful given the rapid spread of COVID-19 through long-term care facilities in Canada. Regardless of the outcome, this study will provide essential pilot data for future large RCTs to improve stress and mental health in both older adults with dementia/MCI and caregivers. This research was funded by Katie Bodenstein received a Canada Graduate Scholarship SSHRC MSc Award and McGill Faculty of Medicine Internal Studentship.

Full text: Available Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: ScienceDirect Topics: Traditional medicine Language: English Journal: The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Year: 2022 Document Type: Article

Similar

MEDLINE

...
LILACS

LIS


Full text: Available Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: ScienceDirect Topics: Traditional medicine Language: English Journal: The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Year: 2022 Document Type: Article