A Dyadic Cooking-Based Intervention for Improving Subjective Health and Well-Being of Older Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Their Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Contact Information

Keywords

well-being; Caregivers; cooking; cooking competence; dyadic intervention; older adults; procedural learning; subjective cognitive decline.

Abstract

Objectives: Evidence on the effectiveness of cooking activities as a well-being promotion intervention for older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and their caregivers is scarce. In view of this, a randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine whether a dyadic cooking-based intervention can improve the subjective health and well-being of older adults with SCD and their caregivers, as well as the cooking competence of the former group. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Community. Participants: Sixty pairs of community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years or above with SCD (mean age = 78.4 years) and their caregivers (mean age = 65.3 years) were randomly assigned to the intervention group (N = 30 pairs) and the wait-list control group (N = 30 pairs). Intervention: The intervention was an innovative 5-week (two hours per week) dyadic cooking-based intervention employing procedural learning methods specifically adapted for older adults with SCD. Measurements: The outcome measures included 1) a well-being index composed by four indicators: life satisfaction, feeling of happiness, sense of purpose and meaning in life, and perceived health, and 2) cooking competence. Results: For both older adults with SCD and their caregivers, the increases in the well-being index were significantly greater in the intervention group than in the control group (β = 0.508, 95% CI [0.036, 0.980]). For older adults with SCD, the increases in the cooking competence score were significantly greater in the intervention group than in the control group (β = 1.629, 95% CI [0.165, 3.071]). Conclusion: The dyadic cooking-based intervention resulted in improvements in the cooking competence and well-being of older adults with SCD, as well as the well-being of caregivers.

Citation

Yu, R., Lai, D., Leung, G., Tong, C., Yuen, S., & Woo, J. (2023). A Dyadic Cooking-Based Intervention for Improving Subjective Health and Well-Being of Older Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Their Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial. The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 27(10), 824–832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-023-1990-1

DOI

10.1007/s12603-023-1990-1

EWB Constructs:

(2) life satisfaction; (3) positive affect; (5) sense of meaning

EWB Measures:

four items covering a range of elements associated with the evaluative, hedonic, and eudemonic aspects of well-being, as well as perceived health.
1) “how satisfied are you with your life?”,
2) “how happy were you in the past month?”, and
3) “do you feel that your life’s meaning is clear to you?”,
The fourth question asked the participants to rate their perceived health, using “how would you rate your overall health at the present time?”

data availability:

data availability details:

N/A

brain imaging paradigm:

N/A

brain region/circuit:

Exclusion Criteria:

Caregivers had to be aged 18 years or above and without SCD

Inclusion Criteria

(1) with SCD but no history of MCI or dementia, self-reported confusion or memory loss
(2) 60 years or above
(3) not terminally ill,
(4) able to stand and use kitchen utensils safely
(5) had a caregiver who could also participate in the study

Non-EWB Behavioral
Measures:

cooking competence:
1) “I forgot to turn off the gas after cooking”
2) “I forgot to apply/repeatedly applied seasoning”
3) “my judgment in cooking was affected by memory loss”
4) “my confidence in cooking was affected by memory loss”
5) “I could not plan out and cook a meal on my own”.

First author:

Ruby Yu

species:

Human

sample size:

120

study design:

(5) RCT

longitudinal data?

Yes

younger controls?

interventions:

Cooking-Based Intervention (5 week, 2 hours per week)

study population:

(2) patients with (pre)clinical dementia
(1) cognitively healthy adults

sex (% female):

patients: 55%
caregivers: 80%

ethnicity (%white)

not stated (Hongkong)

Age (mean, sd):

patients: 78.4 (8.8)
caregivers: 65.3 (11.8)

biological/Physiological Measures:

N/A