The effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation on processing speed, selective attention and cognitive deficit among elderly people

Introduction: Aging is associated with a decline in processing speed and attentional capacity. Cognitive rehabilitation has emerged as a promising intervention to enhance these cognitive functions and mitigate the onset of cognitive impairments among elderly people. Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation on processing speed, selective attention, and cognitive deficits among the elderly people in Mashhad. Method: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest- posttest design and a control group. The statistical population comprised all individuals aged over 60 who visited the Vadi'eh Al-Rasoul complex in Mashhad in 2022. A sample of 28 participants was selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The instruments employed included the Captain's Log cognitive rehabilitation software (2020 version), the Target Practice game, the simple Stroop test, and the Broadbent Cognitive Failure Questionnaire. The Captain's Log cognitive rehabilitation program was administered over 12 sessions, each lasting 30 minutes, twice weekly. Data were analyzed using SPSS22 software. Results: The findings revealed that the cognitive rehabilitation intervention significantly improved information processing speed (P < 0.05). The intervention’s effectiveness was also confirmed for both congruent and incongruent response time components (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the intervention reduced distractibility by 20.8% and improved cognitive deficits by 14.9%. Conclusion: The results suggest that cognitive rehabilitation enhances processing speed, selective attention, and cognitive deficit among elderly people.