How Do Montessori-Based Activities Affect Behaviors for Older People with Dementia: A Literature Review

Objectives: This literature review is meant to analyze the development on the research on Montessori-based activities for adults with dementia. Introduction: Baby Boomers are the largest generation to enter senior age (65+) in history due to the advancement in medicine to increase life expectancy. Dementia is a neurocognitive disease that affects parts of the brain related to memory and signs typically surface around 65 years old. Dementia is not considered healthy aging. Montessori-based activities have been recently developed as an intervention to encourage a feeling of accomplishment and success for adults with dementia. Methods: Two electronic databases (MEDLINE, PubMed) were searched to find systematic reviews published in English that evaluated potential benefits of Montessori-based activities for adults with dementia. Results: The search revealed 25 articles, including two systematic reviews that were selected. Mahendra et al. (2006) reviewed five studies that evaluated outcomes for 74 adults with mild-severe dementia in long-term care units or daycare programs. Findings demonstrated benefits of Montessori interventions on task performance, cognitive performance, active engagement, social interaction, and affect compared to controls. Yan et al. (2023) reviewed 15 studies that included 885 adults with dementia. They found that engagement, feeding, mental health, and ADLs/QOL showed varying levels of improvement after using the Montessori-based activities intervention. Discussion: Both articles sought to evaluate the efficacy of Montessori-based activities for adults with dementia. Adults with dementia in residential care and day program facilities showed improvements in engagement and overall mood while engaging in Montessori-based activities. Limited evidence supports the combined benefits of Montessori-based activities with Spaced Retrieval to support feeding and nutrition. There was no strong evidence of improvement in activities of daily living or quality of life for adults with dementia. Conclusion: Both studies demonstrated increased engagement and mental health for adults with dementia. Implications for implementing this intervention and future research are discussed.