Therapeutic recreation participation, cognitive functioning, and psychosocial well-being of skilled nursing facility residents diagnosed with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease

The current study explored cognitive and psychosocial well-being differences among 93 skilled nursing facility (SNF) residents diagnosed with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease as a function of their levels of participation in therapeutic recreation activities (amount of time spent and frequency of participation). All residents had been in the SNF for one full year at the time of data collection.; A secondary archival collection (from 1998 to 2002) was drawn from five sections of the Minimum Data Set 2.0 (MDS) "limited data set" for the 93 SNF residents' first year annual assessment. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to study the activities with cognitive functioning (long- and short-term memory relationships between the degree of participation (frequency and time) in therapeutic recreation and recall ability) and psychosocial well-being (sense of involvement/initiative, unsettled relationships, and past roles, as well as mood and behavior). Spending greater amounts of time and participating more frequently in therapeutic recreation activities jointly predicted higher levels of psychosocial well-being and levels of cognitive function in residents with mild or moderate stages of Alzheimer's disease. There were also statistically significant relationships between high levels of participation in therapeutic recreation activities and levels of cognitive functioning and psychosocial well-being among residents after their first year in the skilled nursing facility. Furthermore, residents who participated frequently in therapeutic recreation activities were less sad, showed fewer signs of distress, loss of interest, and social isolation compared to those with lower levels of participation.; The findings of this study have contributed to the body of research regarding the significant role that therapeutic recreation has in the life of skilled nursing home residents diagnosed with mild and moderate stages of Alzheimer's disease.