원예치료가 노인요양원 치매노인의 정신건강에 미치는 영향

Effects of Horticultural Therapy on the Mental Health of The Elderly with Dementia in Recuperation Centers for the Aged

The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of horticultural therapy program on perception and activities of daily living of the elderly with dementia. For the purpose, the study measured the changes before and after the therapy, targeting sixteen women with dementia who were living in nursery facilities. We used MMSE-K to analyse the perception, and evaluated activities of daily living using K-MBI. The data collected were analysed with a use of SPSS 12.0. To compare differences in the perception and activities of daily living before and after the horticultural therapy, the study conducted a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. To identify differences between the control and test groups before and after the therapy, a Mann0Whitney test was used. Statistical significance was a=0.05. As the results of this study, it was demonstrated that the horticultural therapy program had a positive effect on perception and activities of daily living of elderly women with dementia and it is suggested that the results can be used as basic data for clinical intervention of the elderly with dementia.