The effects of a psychomotor activation programme for use in groups of cognitively impaired people in homes for the elderly

Objectives To test the effects of the Psychomotor Activation Programme (PAP) on the behaviour and cognition of demented elderly people. Design Randomized controlled trial with an experimental group and a control group. Post‐test after 6 months. Setting Group care projects for demented elderly people living in 11 different homes for the elderly in The Netherlands. Participants One hundred and thirty‐four subjects entered the study (72 in the experimental group and 62 in the control group), 42 of whom dropped out (27 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group). Measurements Individual behaviour and group behaviour were scored using two Dutch scales (BIP and SIPO respectively) developed and validated for use in psychogeriatric populations. Cognition was measured with the short and the long versions of the Cognitive Screening Test (CST‐14 and CST‐20). Disability was measured with the Barthel Index. Medicine use, falls, other accidents and life events were registered. Results The PAP had a beneficial effect on cognition (CST‐14, F=2.63, p≤0.05, effect size 0.4) (CST‐20, F=3.77, p≤0.05, effect size 0.5) and increased positive group behaviour in participants with relatively mild cognitive problems (SIPO, F=4.46, p≤0.05). Conclusions The PAP stabilizes cognitive performance and has some beneficial effects on behaviour. Positive findings were supported by a simultaneously conducted process evaluation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.