Effects of Cognitive Rehabilitation Program for Elderly People with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background: This study attempted to prevent and strengthen the cognitive function of elderly people diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment in the pre-dementia stage through the cognitive rehabilitation program, ‘Hello! Aloha Yangsan’. Method: The subjects of this study were elderly people with mild cognitive impairment registered at a public health center in Y city, including a 25 experimental group and a 23 control group. The cognitive rehabilitation program was operated for a total of 24 sessions over 12 weeks, twice a week, with each session lasting 60 minutes. Results: The experimental group that participated in this intervention program showed a significant increase in cognitive function compared to the control group (t=-2.983, p=.005), and the subjective memory decline of the experimental group showed a significant decrease compared to the control group (t=42.66, p=.001). Conclusions: This intervention program was able to confirm significant effects on cognitive function, subjective memory decline, and depression, and can be used as a major basis for preventing the transition from mild cognitive impairment, which is a pre-stage of dementia to dementia in the future.