Measuring Interaction in Nonpharmacological Interventions for Dementia: an Integrated Review of Methods

PURPOSE
Interaction facilitates the treatment of non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) for people with dementia (PwD). This integrative review aims to present an overview of methods used to measure PwD’s interactions in dementia-related NPIs.
METHODS
An integrated approach was adopted to identify original studies and reviews on interactional indicators demonstrated by PwD in NPI settings.
RESULTS
Current results showed that interaction measurement includes the following four aspects: visual, physical, verbal, and cognitive indicators. Studies on sensory stimulations, which include animals, music, and robots, consider the interaction of PwD with interventions the direct indicator of therapeutic effects and evaluate interaction from multidimensional aspects. Visual, physical, and verbal indicators are frequently used as outcome measures. Visual indicator typically refers to the act of looking at the interventions (i.e., animals and robots). Physical indicators include touch, hug, and other interactive behaviors with robots or animals, as well as dancing and drumming in music therapies. Verbal performances generally include conversation, talking, repeating, and singing in music therapies. In contrast, cognitive performance is less frequently measured, where attention is measured in one animal therapy and short-term recall in one robot therapy.
CONCLUSIONS
Existing literature demonstrates a preference for physical and verbal performances that can be flexibly adapted to different interventions. The visual aspect is adopted in therapies involving robots or animals, where gaze is measured. The cognitive dimension is less employed, the subordinate indicators include attention and remembering.