Elderly adults improve verbal fluency by videophone conversations: A pilot study

Hiroko Mochizuki-Kawai, Mayumi Tanaka, Takaji Suzuki, Yuriko Yamakawa, Satoshi Mochizuki, Masanobu Arai, Mitsuru Kawamura

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We conducted videophone conversations with elderly adults living in a nursing home to discover whether their verbal ability was improved by repeated remote conversations. The control group comprised five elderly adults. The experimental group comprised six elderly adults, including three patients with dementia. They took part in three videophone conversations and their verbal ability was measured before and after the conversations. During the sessions, the participants and volunteers talked about themselves and participated in a quiz. In the experimental group, the mean number of words generated increased from 4.8 to 6.5 after the session (P < 0.05); this increase was not observed in the control group. The experimental group also showed an improvement in words generated after indirect conversations. Videophone conversations appear to have some positive effects on verbal ability and may be beneficial in the cognitive rehabilitation of elderly adults.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)215-218
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Telemedicine and Telecare
Volume14
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 06-2008

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Health Informatics

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