Study Environment Design Sample Intervention Acton et al. (2007) [89 ] Nursing home Pretest posttest 9 women, 1 man diagnosed with dementia, mean age 81 years (range: 76–88); MMSE range: 2–25 Individualized communication prescriptions developed using Kitwood’s strategies for enhancing social communication. Allen-Burge et al. (2001) [88 ] Nursing home Pretest posttest 10 individuals enrolled, 8 completed; Memory book plus training for nursing assistants (2 2-hour education session plus “hands-on” training, staff taught to monitor and record their use of communication skills. 2 men, 6 women, mean age 76.9 (11.7) years, average MMSE 16.25 (5.39), 5 diagnosed with dementia, 3 with “questionable dementia” Bourgeois (1990) [27 ] Community Multiple baseline single subject 3 women, diagnosed with probable AD, aged 59–66, MMSE 12–18, Memory book plus spouse trained to train the participant to converse using the memory book Bourgeois (1992) [90 ] Community Multiple baseline single subject 3 women, 6 men, aged 67–93, MMSE 11–21 Memory book with or without primary caregiver trained to train the participant to converse using the memory book. Bourgeois and Mason (1996) [24 ] Daycare centre Multiple baseline single subject 2 women, 2 men, 2 diagnosed with AD, 1 with possible AD, 1 with senile dementia, aged 74–80, MMSE 7–21 Memory wallets plus training for daycare volunteers Bourgeois et al. (2001) [25 ] Dijkstra et al. (2002) [87 ] Nursing home Lower-quality RCT Intervention group: 4 men, 29 women, mean age 85.7 (5.2), mean MMSE 11.9 (6.9) Memory book plus training for nursing assistants (both education sessions and training during care—average of 8 sessions overall) Control group: 8 men, 25 women, mean age 84.3 (6.6), mean MMSE 13.1 (7.1) Burgio et al. (2001) [30 ] Nursing home Lower-quality Intervention group: 9 men, 25 women, mean age 81.8 (8.9), 52.9% had a diagnosis of dementia in chart, mean MMSE 13.5 (6.7) Memory book plus training (use of memory book plus general communication skills and hands-on training). Control group: 8 men, 25 women, mean age 82.4 (7.1), 72.7% had a diagnosis of dementia in chart, mean MMSE 12.9 (6.0) Cott et al. (2002) [91 ] Nursing home High-quality RCT Talk only group: 10 men, 15 women, mean age 81.7 (7.34), mean MMSE 5.4 (6.0) Talk only: conversation while sitting with another resident and an RA, 30 min/day, 5 days/week
16 weeks Walk and talk group: 14 men, 16 women, mean age 83.2 (8.3), mean MMSE 6.2 (6.2) Walk and talk: Supervised walking and conversation with another resident (prompts from RA) 30-min/day, 5 days/week
16 weeks. Control group: 11 men, 8 women, mean age 79.8 (8.3), mean MMSE 6.3 (7.5) Control group: neither intervention. Gentry and Fisher (2007) [92 ] Community-dwelling Pretest posttest 3 men, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, MMSE 24, 20 and 8 Direct versus indirect listener communication repair. Hoerster et al. (2001) [93 ] Nursing home Multiple baseline single subject 4 women aged 83–90, 2 diagnosed with AD, 1 with multi-infarct dementia, 1 with organic brain syndrome Memory book plus investigator training of participant and instructions to caregiver. McCallion et al., (1999) [94 ] Nursing home Lower-quality RCT Intervention group: 2 men, 30 women, mean age 86.4 (6.6), mean MMSE 5.8 (6.3) Family visit intervention program: 4 90-minute group education sessions plus personalized feedback to family members on their interactions with participant. Control group: 12 men, 22 women, mean age 85.5 (6.7), mean MMSE 8.0 (7.1) Pietro and Boczko (1998) [95 ] Nursing home Nonrandomized controlled trial Intervention group: 20 participants, mean age 84.6 years (4.7), mean MMSE 15.6 (4.0) range 8–21 Breakfast club (breakfast-related activity plus structured conversation
/week over 12 weeks) versus conversation group. Control group: 20 participants, mean age 86.2 years (6.0), mean MMSE 13.8 (4.8) range 5–24 Spilkin and Bethlehem (2003) [96 ] Nursing home Case study 1 man, 85 years of age, AD for 7 years, CDR rating of 3 Memory book, handout on basic strategies of communication given to daughter, 1-hour instructional workshop developed from conversational analysis of 2 10-minute interactions with his daughter.
