Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0487
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-0487
+44 1478 350008
Pedra Santos
Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Portugal
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychol Psychother
Reminiscence interventions have been considered a very powerful and effective technique for the rehabilitation of different neurocognitive disorders. A step beyond classical cognitive stimulation, focusing not only on memory losses but mostly on the role played by emotions in the development and reinforcement of identity. A new App has managed to incorporate different manifestations of immaterial heritage (traditional dances, songs, proverbs and tongue twisters), adapted to the birthplace/childhood, age and literacy level of each participant, through Artificial Intelligence techniques in more accessible environments (tablet/mobile). The study of usability and satisfaction of the prototype, recently developed and implemented in Spain and Portugal, included 56 participants with a mean age of 80.71 and enrolled in 7 facilities for older adults. 73.21% were female, 76.78% had low educational level and 62.50% present cognitive impairment. The results showed that 60.72% had to perform with a low level of difficulty. However, after completion of the new reminiscence program, and according to the Visual Analogue Scale (1 to 10 points), usability and satisfaction were highly perceived by Spanish (7.6 "1.94 and 8.37 "1.38) and Portuguese (7.13 "2.46 y 8.54 "1.86) participants, but also by people with cognitive impairment (7.06 "2.38 y 8.34 "1.63) and without cognitive impairment (8.29 "1.59 y 8.57 "1.78). The prepost assessment with the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) also revealed statistically significant differences in the positive affect subscale, not only in the Spanish (p=0.001) and Portuguese (p=0.001) context, but also among the groups of people with cognitive impairment (p=0.000) and without cognitive impairment (p=0.001). The low frequencies of negative emotions were maintained. The findings suggest that access to intangible cultural heritage, supported by artificial intelligence, reinforce the importance of person-centred interventions in the wellbeing of older adults including those with cognitive impairment.
Dr. Pedro Santos was a researcher at Center for Health Technology and Services Research in Portugal. Project funded by the Fundación General CSIC (FGCSIC), Programa para una Sociedad Longeva (0551_PSL_6_E POCTEP) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)