Functional Impact of a Memory Intervention Program

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Normal aging is associated with decline in some aspects of memory, and this can be a risk factor for reductions in everyday functioning. The Baycrest Memory and Aging Program teaches positive adaptation to age-related memory changes, including strategies for minimizing the everyday impact of normal memory change and positive lifestyle change to maximize brain health. Prior research has shown that the Memory and Aging program is effective in increasing participants' knowledge about memory, use of memory strategies, and confidence in memory function, as well as adoption of healthier lifestyle practices and reduction in intention to use unneeded health care resources. Although not one of the stated goals of the program, informal feedback from participants suggests that the educational content and skills training in the Memory and Aging Program has led some participants to change behaviours in ways that lead to significant improvements in their everyday functioning. For example, graduating participants often volunteer examples of how they have applied what they have learned to succeed in everyday memory tasks such as learning a new name or keeping track of future plans. Based on this participant feedback, it is hypothesized that the knowledge, skills, and confidence gained by Memory and Aging Program participants may lead to positive behaviour changes that, in turn, lead to improved everyday functioning. The present study will test this hypothesis using a randomized controlled pretest-posttest design.

Official Title
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Functional Impact of a Memory Intervention Program

Conditions
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Aging

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Memory and Aging Program


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Age 50-90 Available to participate in all testing and intervention sessions (located in Toronto, Canada) Exclusion Criteria: health conditions with major effects on cognition, including a current or previous history of stroke, brain surgery, or diagnosed neurological disorder dependence in instrumental activities of daily living cognitive impairment, defined as performance below cutoff for cognitive impairment on a standardized cognitive test, the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (Brandt, Spencer, & Folstein, 1988). affective impairment, defined as performance below cutoff for depression on standardized depression screen, the Geriatric Depression Scale (Yesavage et al., 1983)

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 50 Years
Maximum Age: 90 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Memory and Aging Program<br>The Memory and Aging Program intervention consists of five 2-hour sessions conducted over five consecutive weeks. The content of the program includes: (a) the provision of factual information (i.e., about memory, age-related memory changes, lifestyle factors affecting memory, and memory strategies) in an informal lecture format; and (b) memory intervention (i.e., practice and application of several evidence-based memory strategies) in a hands-on interactive format. | Behavioral: Memory and Aging Program<br> <br> |
| No Intervention: Wait-list Control<br>Participants randomized to the wait-list control group will receive no intervention following randomization. They will be offered the intervention immediately following completion of the week 14 outcome testing session. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change from baseline in healthy lifestyle behaviours as measured by Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (Walker, Sechrist, & Pender, 1987) |  | Baseline, Week 8, week 14 | 
| Change from baseline in memory strategy use as measured by the Memory Strategy Toolbox (modified from Troyer, 2001) |  | Baseline, Week 8, week 14 | 
| Attainment of individualized goals for (a) lifestyle change, (b) memory strategy use, and (c) functional outcomes of memory strategy use as measured by Goal Attainment Scaling (Gordon, Powell, & Rockwood, 2000; Kiresuk, Smith, & Cardillo, 1994) |  | Baseline, Week 8, week 14 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in positive and negative affect as measured by Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) |  | Baseline, Week 8, week 14 | 
| Change in general health status as measured by the RAND 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (Ware & Sherbourne, 1992). |  | Baseline, Week 8, week 14 | 
| General Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) |  | Baseline, Week 8, week 14 | 
| Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (Smith, Della Sala, Logie, & Maylor, 2000) |  | Baseline, Week 8, week 14 | 
| Self-report health status, lifestyle changes, attitudes about aging |  | Baseline, Week 8, week 14 | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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memory, memory training, aging