title: [The effect of telecommunication(with Skype)to improve a cognitive function for elderly patients with dementia and to reduce a care burden for their care givers].
abstract: We conducted an intervention study to clarify how effectively videophone(Skype)was used in the communication for elderly patients with dementia being cared at home and their caregivers. For a period of 12 weeks, a patient-caregiver pair(n =8)communicated with a nurse via computer for 30 minutes once a week. The patient and caregiver worked as a pair. Before and after 12-week study period started, the intervention and control group(n=8)patients were assessed on cognitive scale(HDS-R), ADL, care burden scale(J-ZBI_8)and hours of sleep for caregivers. The result on the 12th week showed a significant improvement in hours of sleep on the intervention group of caregivers, and signs of improvement on the intervention group of patients in HDS-R. According to a questionnaire survey for caregivers, many of them said that a videophone communication was a pleasant experience for the family, and it is also useful for information gathering. Therefore, we think that the videophone communication is useful for a cognitive rehab work and giving good feelings for the patient. It also gives a good satisfaction for the family. Furthermore, a patient who had an intervention for 3 times in 2 years showed a sign of improvements in the cognitive function and care burden scale during the intervention period. However, the score dropped for several months. Therefore, it is important that a continuous intervention is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Health Science, Nagoya University, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University.
authors.forename: Miyako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Ayana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Furuya
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Ayae
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition; D003195:Computer Communication Networks; D003704:Dementia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000628:therapy