| Abstract: | 失智症除了可透過藥物治療延緩病程惡化，亦可採非藥物輔助療法進行有意義的訓練來改善日常生活。非藥物輔助療法包含提供人際互動機會、豐富外在刺激大腦及加強認知之訓練，如多感官刺激（Multi-Sensory Intervention）等有助於失智症患者重新建立日常生活之功能。本研究將多感官中之視覺、聽覺、運動覺及觸覺等刺激活動設計導入智慧型機器人系統，透過智慧型機器人結合數位學習，讓失智症高齡者參與學習活動與互動，以評估此設計對失智症高齡者精神行為症狀的改善成效。
本研究以彰化縣某私立老人養護中心的失智症高齡者為研究對象，符合收案共 52 人，將個案隨機分為實驗組及對照組。實驗組 26 人 (年齡：85.8±8.1歲)、對照組 26 人 (年齡：82.5±10.5歲)。實驗組每週1次，每次50分鐘，持續12週，藉由與智慧型機器人互動，進行多感官刺激；對照組則維持機構中常規活動。本研究以簡短版神經精神病徵量表（Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire, NPI-Q）、簡易心智量表（Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE）及巴氏量表（Activities of daily living, ADL）作為評量工具。
本研究結果發現，藉由12週智慧型機器人多感官刺激，有助於失智症高齡者精神行為症狀、心智，與日常生活活動能力之改善。在精神行為症狀方面，此介入可改善妄想、幻覺、憂鬱/情緒不佳、怪異動作、睡眠/夜間行為與飲食等6項神經精神行為症狀，此外也提升了定向感、注意力、短期記憶、語言等6項認知表現，以及進食、穿脫衣服、床間移動等6項日常生活活動表現。
本研究結果顯示以智慧型機器人進行多感官刺激可用於改善失智症高齡者之精神與行為症狀、認知與日常生活功能。
In addition to drug treatments for delaying the progression of dementia, non-drug-assisted therapies can provide meaningful training to enhance daily life. Non-drug-assisted therapies include training programs that can increase interpersonal interaction, enrich external stimulation of the brain, and enhance cognition. As an example, the multi-sensory intervention therapy can help patients with dementia to re-establish their functions for daily life. This study introduced multi-sensory activities, including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile stimulation, into an intelligent robot and aimed to evaluate the interventional effectiveness on mental and behavioral symptoms among older people with dementia.
This study enrolled older people with dementia in a private long-term care center in Changhua County. A total of 52 participants joined in the study and were randomly allocated into the experimental and the control groups, where 26 (aged 85.8±8.1 years) in the experimental group and 26 (aged 82.5±10.5 years) in the control group. Participants in the experimental group interacted with the intelligent robot for 50 minutes once a week during the period of 12-weeks intervention of the multi-sensory stimulation treatment. Participants in the control group maintained routine activities in the center. The short version of Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Barthel Scale (Activities of daily living, ADL) were used for assessment.
The study found that 12-weeks intervention of multi-sensory stimulation treatment via the intelligent robot significantly improved the mental and behavioral symptoms, the cognition, and functions in activities of daily living for the older people with dementia. In terms of psycho-behavioral symptoms, the intervention improved 6 neuropsychiatric and behavioral symptoms, including delusions, hallucinations, depression/poor mood, bizarre movements, sleep/nocturnal behavior, and eating. In addition, it improved 6 performances in cognition, including orientation, attention, short-term memory, and language, as well as 6 daily life activities, such as eating, putting on and taking off clothes, and mobility.
The study findings suggest that multi-sensory stimulation with intelligent robots could improve mental and behavioral symptoms, cognition, and activities of daily living of older people with dementia. |
