The Effect of Playing Solitaire Card Games to Prevent Dementia in Elderly People at Risk of Dementia, Ban Na Sinuan Subdistrict Health Promotion Hospital, Phayakkhaphumiphisai District, Maha Sarakham Province

Abstract

Background and Aims: Dementia is one of the major health problems found in the elderly group, causing dependency and affecting both the family and the community. Current treatment only relieves symptoms or delays symptoms, whether it is medication or non-drug treatment. What can be done in the community is occupational therapy, which currently has more activities. However, due to the limitations of the community, most of the elderly have received basic education or no more than the 6th grade of primary school, resulting in limitations in doing activities. Therefore, the researcher has used playing card games with numbers, symbols, and colors to prevent dementia in the elderly. This study aimed to study the effects of playing solitaire card games on dementia in the elderly group at risk of dementia.

Methodology: This study was a quasi-experimental research design. Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design The sample group was 50 elderly people aged 60-69 years who lived in the area under the responsibility of Ban Na Sinuan Subdistrict Health Promotion Hospital. They were divided into an experimental group and a control group, 25 people per group. They were selected by having a Mini-cog set 1 score less than or equal to 3 points and a Moca score less than or equal to 25 points. The sampling method was purposive sampling. The experimental group received 3 games of solitaire games/day, 2 days/week for 8 weeks. The control group received regular care. The instruments used in the experiment were 1) General information questionnaires, 2) Dependent variable assessment tools, including 2.1) Mini-Cog (S. Borson) set 1 assessment, 2.2) MoCA assessment, and 3) Experimental tools, namely, Klondike solitaire card game. The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, percentage, and Dependent T-test and Independent T-test statistics. The level of statistical significance was set at .05.

Results: The experimental group after the experiment had a statistically significant increase in the mean dementia score assessed by Mini-cog and Moca than before the experiment (Mean Diff. = 1.56, SD = 0.77, t = -10.16, p < .01), (Mean Diff. = 3.64, SD = 1.55, t = -11.73, p < .01) and when compared between the experimental group and the control group. After the experiment, the mean dementia status of the experimental group was statistically significantly different from that of the control group (Mean Diff. = 1.00, SD = 2.07, t = 4.83, p < .01), (Mean Diff. = 1.64, SD = 0.71, t = 2.31, p = .03). The mean dementia status of each aspect of the experimental group before and after the experiment was statistically significantly different overall (Mean Diff. = 0.310, SD = 1.55, t = -11.73, p < .001). When separated by aspect, the aspects with differences were visuospatial and attention aspects (p < .001), naming aspects (p = 0.17), and language aspects (p = .041). There were no differences in the abstract aspects and recall aspects.

Conclusion: After participating in the Solitaire card game, the elderly had an overall mean increase in dementia, especially in the visual-spatial and attention domains, naming domains, and language domains, which were significantly higher than before participating in the game at a statistical significance level of .05. Therefore, playing a solitaire card game helps improve the level of dementia. The sample group should be expanded from the age range of 60-69 years, and the evaluation period after the experiment should be at least 2 weeks.