BACKGROUND
Recently, non-drug treatment options to reduce cognitive decline in dementia have become increasingly prominent. First results from qualitative studies show that tablet-based applications are perceived as attractive by dementia patients.
OBJECTIVE
Attractiveness, validity and usability of a cognitive stimulation app developed for groups of older people were examined using quantitative data.
METHODS
A standardized group session was performed with 20 subjects (10 women, 10 men, 6 controls, 8 patients with mild cognitive impairment and 6 patients with mild dementia), in which four tasks from the tablet-based app as well as four paper and pencil tasks from a validated manual for cognitive activation in patients with mild dementia were administered.
RESULTS
Both types of tasks were rated as little exhausting and very attractive, with three of the four tablet tasks being rated better in terms of attractiveness (P=.017, .008 and .096). Although the majority of tasks was solved more quickly by the participants with lower cognitive deficits (.002 <= P <= .038), the exercises were resolved timely and without problems by all participants from the beginning, and the groups did not differ in their learning progress regarding tablet operating speed (.193 <= P <= .739).
CONCLUSIONS
The findings encourage the use of this low cost and accessible technology. With the BTTB, a ready-to-use application without additional costs or hardware requirements is available, which can be used directly in group sessions with dementia patients.