Effect of Traditional Opera on Older Adults With Dementia
Abstract
This study evaluates the effectiveness of traditional Chinese opera on older adults with dementia; those who met the inclusion criteria were categorized into intervention (n = 21) and control (n = 22) groups. Traditional Chinese opera was organized for the intervention group for 12 weeks. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Chinese version of the neuropsychiatric inventory (CNPI), and Quality of Life in Alzheimer's disease (QOL-AD) assessed the effectiveness at the pre-test stage and after 6 and 12 weeks of the intervention, and generalized estimated equation was used for statistical analysis. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) differences were observed between the intervention and control groups in terms of MMSE, CNPI, and QOL-AD. Traditional Chinese opera can potentially be an effective therapy for improving the cognitive function of older adults with dementia, reducing their behavioral and psychiatric symptoms and enhancing their quality of life.