JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

While exercise can benefit people with cognitive impairment (PwCI; e.g. dementia), many exercise programs offered to PwCI are passive, unengaging, and repetitive, resulting in poor adherence. Motion-based technologies (MBT; e.g. Xbox Kinect) are increasingly being explored to encourage exercise participation among PwCI. However, the impacts of using MBT with PwCI on variables including balance, movement confidence, and cognitive function have yet to be determined.

Objective:

Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of a group MBT intervention on balance, movement confidence, and cognitive function among PwCI.

Methods:

In this quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design, twenty-four PwCI who speak and understand English, are without visual impairment, and can stand and walk will be recruited from four adult day programs and invited to play Xbox Kinect bowling in a group setting, twice weekly for ten weeks (20 sessions). At pre-test, participants will complete the Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BEST) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Participants will be video recorded during week one, five, and ten of the intervention to capture behavioural indicators of movement confidence (e.g. fluency of motion). At post-test, the Mini-BEST and MoCA will be repeated. Quantitative data collected through the Mini-BEST and the MoCA will be compared from pre-test to post-test using paired t-tests. An ANCOVA with post hoc analyses will also be performed to account for covariates (e.g. number of intervention sessions attended). To analyze the videos, count and percentage data will be extracted from coded recordings.

Results:

This study will answer the question of whether a group MBT intervention, delivered in an adult day program context, has the potential to improve balance, movement confidence, and cognitive function among PwCI.

Conclusions:

This study could assess the feasibility and potential benefits of using MBT to deliver exercise interventions to PwCI. This work can also be used as the basis for developing specific software and future exercise programs using MBT for PwCI, as well as understanding some of the conditions regarding how these programs can be delivered.