Effectiveness of Cognitive Rehabilitation on Agitation, Apathy and Cognitive Function in Male Elders with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Introduction: The elders need proper medical and psychiatric care and attention, so choosing a suitable therapeutic approach for their psychological care, especially in those with cognitive impairment, will be effective in improving psychological symptoms and their health. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation on agitation, apathy and cognitive function. Methods: This quasi-experimental study carried out among male elders with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Kahrizak Charity nursing home in Alborz province in 2020. A sample of 36 male elders with MCI was purposefully selected and randomly assigned to experimental (n = 18) and control (n = 18) groups. Data were collected through Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory; Apathy Evaluation Scale and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Basic. The intervention group received 8 sessions of 90 minutes, cognitive rehabilitation based on kelly and O'Sullivan's cognitive rehabilitation strategies and techniques. Results: After controlling the mean scores of the pretest, a significant difference was observed in agitation (96.6 vs 101.9) apathy (30.02 vs 34.10) and cognitive function (19.60 vs 16.80) between experimental and control groups. This means that cognitive rehabilitation reduced agitation and apathy with effect sizes of 0.42 and 0.54 respectively and increased cognitive function with an effect size of 0.65. Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation in reducing agitation, apathy and increasing cognitive function of the participants, cognitive rehabilitation is suggested to improve individual functioning and interpersonal relationships in the elderly with MCI.