Daily life training programme for mild cognitive impaired elderly people: application of procedural learning approach

In Hong Kong, the number of people with cognitive impairment is expected to increase four-fold from 2015 to 2050. Presently 9 out of 100 of those aged >70 years have mild cognitive impairment. Symptoms of early onset of mild cognitive impairment are similar to general deterioration; impaired elderly people and family members may deny the onset and be reluctant to seek or accept treatment. The Chef Anchor programme provides cognitive training for elderly people with mild cognitive impairment through application of procedural learning approach in cooking. The programme features are: (1) Cultural based: cooking in Chinese families is very important, particularly for lifelong housewives, as meals is an important means of family gathering. (2) Compliment based: assisting elderly people to continue their valuable role within the family and maintain their independence. Cognitive training through cooking allows elderly people to learn in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. It also reduces the labelling effect of 'receiving treatment'. (3) Cross-discipline collaboration: occupational therapist, social worker, cooking instructor collaborated to customise recipes with the required materials and cooking steps presented in short, clear language, supplemented by safety messages, colours, fonts and pictures that make the process clear and safe, and elderly people can learn and master easily. (4) Cross-sectoral collaboration: the programme was launched with the efforts of non-governmental organisations, utility corporates, and universities, each contributing one's expertise. (5) Community education: training corporate volunteers, students, and family members to be assistants to the instructor to assist with implementation of training sessions. This creates a chance for them to realise improvement and changes of impaired elderly people are possible. A total of 100 elderly people participated in the programme within 1 year. They were assessed with the Hong Kong version Montreal Cognitive Assessment 5-minute Protocol before and after five sessions of cooking class. Improvement in cognitive functioning was noticed. Besides, through pre-test and post-test comparison, improvements in safety in cooking, self-confidence, mood stability, and judgement were identified.