Combined interventions in cognitive and psychological enhancement in community-dwelling older adults: a two-year follow-up

Abstract Objective The objective of the study was to longitudinally assess the relationship between different combined interventions (stimulation, intervention, psychoeducation, and physical activity) in improving memory, attention, and executive functions in community-dwelling older adults. Method This is a quantitative, exploratory and longitudinal research carried out with 33 community-dwelling older adults in the community, with a mean age of 71.27 (+ 7.11) years. For that, sociodemographic measures were assessed for sample characterization, and cognitive and psychological measures were employed as performance indicators. Results The results, as evidenced by ANOVA, revealed that time 3 (p < 0.01), interference A6 (p = 0.02), learning curve (p = 0.03), and forgetting speed (p = 0.03) were impacted by the intervention. Regarding the time factor, only A1 (p = 0.01) and the learning curve (p = 0.01) showed significant alterations. Analysis using Z-score indicated that the combined strategy of cognitive training and psychoeducation yielded the greatest gains and effect on learning transfer. Conclusion The results highlighted that combined cognitive interventions may promote the enhancement of cognitive and psychological abilities.