OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF OLDER PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/health-2025.1.25Keywords:
dementia, occupational therapy, intervention, quality of life, caregiversAbstract
Dementia is a progressive neurocognitive disorder that is diagnosed when one or more cognitive domains are impaired, such as complex attention, executive functions, learning and memory, language, praxis, and social cognition. Dementia is accompanied by a progressive decline in cognitive function, difficulties in performing activities of daily living (ADLs), and the emergence of behavioral and psychological symptoms, which negatively affects the quality of life of patients and their caregivers.One of the approaches that helps to improve the quality of life of people with dementia and their caregivers is occupational therapy. The purpose of the article is to analyse and theoretically substantiate effective occupational therapy approaches in the care of patients with dementia. The study and analysis of foreign scientific papers published in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases in recent years and relevant to the topic of the study were carried out.The results of the study confirm the effectiveness of occupational therapy in reducing cognitive and behavioral symptoms of dementia, increasing the level of independence of patients and reducing the burden on their caregivers. Key interventions that help improve the quality of life of patients with dementia have been identified. These include: interventions aimed to improve basic and instrumental activities of daily living, interventions to support social participation and communication, cognitive rehabilitation, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, multisensory interventions, therapeutic gardening, physical activity, interventions aimed at improving sleep quality and eating behavior. Also, the positive impact of caregivers training and adaptation of the environment to support patients’ daily activities was confirmed.The study emphasizes the need for the use of occupational therapy interventions in working with patients with dementia, the importance of further development of occupational therapy approaches in this area in Ukraine, the creation of standardized intervention protocols and the adaptation of international experience to the national healthcare system.
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