[Comparison of digital and conventional life story books on mood, communication, cognition and quality of life in people with dementia in nursing homes: A pilot study].

INTRODUCTION: Person-centered care (PCC) includes life story, a form of reminiscence therapy that can be useful in the treatment of dementia. We compared the efficacy of using a digital or conventional life story book (LSB) on depressive symptoms, communication, cognition, and quality of life.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty one persons with dementia living in 2 PCC nursing homes were randomly assigned to receive reminiscence therapy based on the Neural Actions digital LSB (n=16) or a conventional LSB (n=15). Both groups performed 2 weekly sessions of 45min for 5 weeks. Depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Cornell scale (CSDD); communication with the Holden scale (HCS), cognition with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and quality of life with the quality of life scale for Alzheimer's (QoL-AD). The results were analyzed using ANOVA of repeated measures with the jamovi 2.3 program.

RESULTS: Both LSB improved communication skills (η2 =0.115; p<0.001), with no differences between groups. No effects on quality of life, cognition, or mood were found.

CONCLUSIONS: In PCC centres digital or conventional LSB can be useful in the treatment of people with dementia by facilitating communication. Its role on quality of life, cognition or mood is uncertain.