Abstract
Objectives
Montessori-based activities are becoming a popular approach for the care of older
adults living with dementia. The aim of this study was to systematically assess the
quality of the research examining the benefits of Montessori-based activities for
persons with dementia.
Methods
Six peer-reviewed databases were systematically searched for all relevant articles
published until April 2015. Included articles were peer-reviewed studies published
in English that employed Montessori-based activities with persons with dementia. Methodological
quality was assessed by 2 independent raters using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database
Scale or the Downs and Black evaluation tool. Levels of evidence were assigned to
the study design using a modified Sackett scale.
Results
One hundred fifty articles were identified, and 14 were selected for inclusion. Level-2
evidence examining the impact of Montessori-based activities on eating behaviors suggested
that difficulties with eating could be reduced with Montessori training. There was
limited level-4 evidence for the benefits of Montessori-based activities on cognition,
wherein benefits appeared to be specific to lower-level cognitive abilities including
memory and attention. Finally, there is level-1 (n = 1), level-2 (n = 3), and level-4
(n = 6) evidence for the benefits of Montessori-based activities on engagement and
affect, whereby constructive engagement and positive affect were heightened.
Discussion
Overall, there is a strong level of evidence for the benefits of Montessori-based
activities on eating behaviors and weak evidence for the benefits on cognition. Evidence
for the benefits of Montessori-based activities on engagement and affect are mixed.
Future research is needed to examine the long-term benefits of Montessori-based activities.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- The global prevalence of dementia: A systematic review and metaanalysis.Alzheimers Dement. 2013; 9: 63-75
- Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society.Alzheimer Society of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario2010
- Understanding responsive behaviors: The importance of correctly perceiving triggers that precipitate residents' responsive behaviours.Can Nurs Home. 2005; 16: 29-34
- Approaches to the management of disruptive behaviors.in: Lawton M.P. Rubinstein R.L. Interventions in Dementia Care: Towards Improving Quality of Life. Springer Publishing, New York, NY2000
- Integrating unmet needs into dementia health-related quality of life research and care: Introduction of the hierarchy model of needs in dementia.Aging Ment Health. 2010; 14: 113-119
- The needs of older people with dementia in residential care.Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006; 21: 43-49
- Efficacy of theory-based activities for behavioral symptoms of dementia.Nurs Res. 2005; 54: 219-228
- Origins of Montessori programming for dementia.Nonpharmacol Ther Dement. 2010; 1: 163-174
- Montessori-based dementia programming: Providing tools for engagement.Dementia. 2007; 6: 150-157
- Montessori-based dementia activities in long-term care: Training and implementation.Activ Adapt Aging. 2001; 25: 107-120
- Dissociation between declarative and procedural learning in dementia and depression.J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1995; 17: 841-848
- Montessori improved cognitive dompains in adults with Alzheimer's disease.Phys Occup Ther Geriatr. 2003; 20: 19-33
- Montessori methods yield cognitive gains in Alzheimer's day cares.Activ Adapt Aging. 2001; 24: 1-22
- Using spaced retrieval and Montessori-based activities in improving eating ability for residents with dementia.Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010; 25: 953-959
- Using a montessori method to increase eating ability for institutionalised residents with dementia: A crossover design.J Clin Nurs. 2011; 20: 3092-3101
- Cognitive-linguistic interventions for persons with dementia.Top Geriatr Rehabil. 2011; 27: 278-288
- Use of Montessori-based activities by visitors of nursing home resients with dementia.Clin Gerontol. 2002; 26: 71-84
- An intergenerational program for persons with dementia using Montessori methods.Gerontologist. 1997; 37: 688-692
- Effects of intergenerational Montessori-based activities programming on engagement in nursing home residents with dementia.Clin Interv Aging. 2007; 2: 1-7
- Resident-assisted Montessori programming (RAMP): Training persons with dementia to serve as group activity leaders.Gerontologist. 2004; 44: 426-431
- Early stage dementia client as group leader.Clin Gerontol. 2005; 28: 81-85
- Resident-assisted Montessori programming (RAMP): Use of a small group reading actvitity run by persons with dementia in adult day health center and long-term care settings.Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2007; 22: 27-36
- Effects of using nursing home residents to serve as group activity leaders: Lessons learned from the RAP project.Dementia (London). 2014; 13: 274-285
- Evidence-basd practice recommendations for working with individuals with dementia: Montessori-based interventions.J Med Speech Lang Pathol. 2006; 14 (xv–xxv)
- Evidence for physiotherapy practice: A survey of the physiotherapy evidence database (PEDro).Aust J Physiother. 2002; 48: 43-49
- The feasibility of creating a checklist for the assessment of methodological quality both of randomised and non-randomised studies of health care interventions.J Epidemiol Community Health. 1998; 52: 377-384
- Evidencce-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM.3rd ed. Elsevier Churchill Livingstone, Toronto2005
- The PEDro scale is a valid measure of the methodological quality of clinical trials: A demographic study.Aust J Physiother. 2009; 55: 129-133
- Reliability of the PEDro Scale for rating quality of randomzied control trials.Phys Ther. 2003; 83: 713-721
- Stroke rehabilitation evidance-based review: Methodology.Top Stroke Rehabil. 2003; 10: 1-7
- Spinal cord injury rehabilitation evidence: Methods of the SCIRE systematic review.Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2007; 13: 1-10
- Systematic review of the methodological quality and outcome measures utilized in exercise interventions for adults with spinal cord injury.Spinal Cord. 2012; 50: 718-727
- Age-related macular degeneration and low-vision rehabilitation: A systematic review.Can J Ophthalmol. 2008; 43: 180-187
- Montessori programming for persons with dementia in the group setting: An analysis of engagement and affect.Dementia. 2008; 7: 109-125
- Use of Montessori-based activities for clients with dementia in adult day care: Effects on engagement.Am J Alzheimers Dis. 2000; 15: 42-46
- Montessori-based activities for long-term care residents with advanced dementia: Effects on engaegment and affect.Gerontologist. 2000; 40: 107-111
- Montessori-based activities for long-term care residents with dementia.Top Geriatr Rehabil. 2000; 16: 78-91
- A randomized crossover trial to study the effect of personalized, one-to-one interaction using Montessori-based activities on agitation, affect, and engagement in nursing home residents with dementia.Int Psychogeriatr. 2013; 25: 565-575
- Using acupressure and montessori-based activities to decrease agitation for residents with dementia: A cross-over trial.J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009; 57: 1022-1029
- Observed affect in nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease.J Gerontol. 1996; 51B: P3-P14
Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 14, 2015
Footnotes
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.