Master’s Research Insight: Exercise and Dementia

Dr. Perkinson has been working with three students within the MOT class to unveil the effects exercise has on persons with dementia living in assisted living facilities when performed with their family or primary caregivers.  This is a topic that further interested Dr. Perkinson after she conducted a community based exercise project several years ago.  There is a good amount of evidence that discusses the benefits of exercise on overall physical and psychological health. The goal is to investigate what activities interest the participant through an extensive interview. Then from that interview we create a meaningful and individualized exercise program for the participant and their family member that will last for 3 months. We investigate how the social aspect of working with a family member and having an individualized exercise program affects the retention of exercise among this population, as well as analyze the psychological, emotional, and physical effects of the exercise program on both the participant and their family member.

The students get the privilege of carrying out a hands-on experience through this research project. After extensive training, students are able to give interviews with family members, health assessments to both the participant and family member, create individualized exercise programs, follow up through phone checkups, and compile data in a computer system. Though the project has been slow to get going due to changes in proposals and location of research sites, the research will be continued throughout the summer of 2013 in hopes there are significant results to present at future conferences.