Effect of a 12-week application-based group conversation intervention on cognitive health and psychological well-being among Japanese older adults: Evaluation of a PICMOA randomized controlled trial (Preprint)

Abstract

Following empirical evidence suggesting a strong connection between social activities and longevity/well-being, this topic has now entered an intervention phase, which evaluates the effectiveness of social activity interventions and accumulates practical knowledge.

This study examined the effects of "Photo-Integrated Conversation Moderated by Application" (PICMOA), an application-based remote conversational intervention, on the cognitive function and psychological well-being of community-dwelling older adults with subjective cognitive concerns in Japan.

The PICMOA trial is a randomized controlled trial introducing an open-label, two parallel group trial design with a 1:1 allocation. In this trial, the effects of the PICMOA intervention, a weekly application-based group conversation, were compared with weekly health education videos. The participants included community dwellers aged 65 years and older with subjective cognitive concerns. In total, 81 participants were enrolled in the trial and divided into groups (intervention: n = 41; control: n = 40). The main outcomes included cognitive function assessed through a telephone Interview for Cognitive Status in Japanese, verbal fluency test, and Digit Span Forward and Backward tests. The secondary outcomes included psychological and social well-being. The effects of the PICMOA intervention were examined using a mixed linear model.

In total, 75 participants (intervention: n = 35; control: n = 40) who completed the intervention and evaluations were analyzed. Overall, there were no significant improvements associated with cognitive function and psychological metrics in the intervention group. However, bilateral patterns emerged in the intervention effects on category fluency when individuals were classified by their smartphone-use proficiency at baseline: significant negative effects for those who were unfamiliar with smartphones at baseline (β = -5.47, SE = 2.04, P = .009) and significant positive effects for those who were familiar with smartphones at baseline (β = 6.43, SE = 2.47, P = .01) were observed.

This trial showed no significant improvements in cognitive and psychological outcomes after the PICMOA intervention. Further research on digital health practices is required to accumulate more evidence.

UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000047247.

RR2-10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1114790