Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

BACKGROUND: Research has consistently shown decreased quality of life (QoL) in people with dementia, with predictors of QoL ranging from education to emotional status. This study, along with a one year follow-up study, investigated the impact of Awe Walks as an intervention targeting emotional status for the first time in dementia. Awe-a positive emotion elicited when in the presence of vast things not immediately understood-promotes social connection and fosters well-being by encouraging a "small self". METHOD: Participants with dementia between the ages of 60 and 85 took biweekly 15-min outdoor walks for 4 weeks; a total of 53 participants were matched and randomly assigned either to an awe walk group, which oriented them to experience awe during their walks, or to a waitlist control group. Pre- and post-intervention measures of QoL, cognitive functioning, behavioural pathology relevant to daily functioning, and clinical global impression were completed. RESULT: Compared to degenerative deterioration in controls, individuals who participated in the Awe Walk intervention exhibited greater improvements in QoL, attention, orientation, mood, and social behaviour. CONCLUSION: These results suggest cultivating awe enhances positive emotions that improve quality of life and diminishes negative emotions that hasten decline. An intervention such as this, cost-effective and simply executed in the long term, has important implications for providing quality care to this population served by neuropsychologists.