Development and Evaluation of Cognitive Games to Promote Health and Wellbeing in Elderly People with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: In Europe the number of elderly people is increasing. This population growth has resulted in higher healthcare costs. The purpose of this project was to try to promote active ageing in people aged 65-80 with mild cognitive impairment through cognitive games delivered via a tablet computer.

OBJECTIVES: Age-appropriate cognitive games were developed targeting different aspects of cognition and then experiences of elderly people using these games were evaluated.

METHODS: The design of games was developed through iterative user-centered design focus groups with elderly people as participants. The experiences of participants playing the games over a 47 day period were explored through semi-structured interviews.

RESULTS: Four games were developed that addressed a range of cognitive functions such as perception, attention, memory, language, comprehension and executive function. The participants were able to play these games without external intervention over an extended period and reported positively on their experiences.

CONCLUSION: Cognitive games can be used successfully by people with mild cognitive impairment to promote active ageing.