Effects of a digital, person-centered, photo-activity intervention on the social interaction of nursing home residents with dementia, their informal carers and formal carers: An explorative randomized controlled trial

To enhance social interaction of residents living with dementia and their (in)formal carers in nursing homes, we examined the effects of a digital, person-centred, Photo-Activity (PA) versus a conversation activity (control). An explorative randomized controlled trial was conducted in 81 resident-informal carer (IC) dyads and 51 formal carers (FC) with three measurements (pre/post-test, 2-week follow-up). Intervention effects were tested using Mann–Whitney U’s, and ANCOVA’s with pre-test scores as covariates. Interaction effects were examined between dementia severity (DS; less/more) and condition (PA/control). A post-test effect was observed in social interaction (INTERACT-subscale: Mood [p = 0.037, ηp2 = 0.07]), with PA residents showing better mood than controls. Residents with less DS showed more positive effects of PA than residents with more DS (interaction effects: INTERACT-subscales Mood [p = 0.017, ηp2 = 0.092], Stimulation Level [p = 0.011, ηp2 = 0.106], and Need for Prompting [p = 0.013, ηp2 = 0.099]). Higher QUALIDEM Positive Affect scores were observed in the PA group, post-test (p = 0.025, ηp2 = 0.082), and follow-up (p = 0.042, d = 0.39). PA FC showed less empathy (IRI; p = 0.006, ηp2 = 0.185;) than controls, but reported getting to know the residents better (p = 0.035, r = 0.299). PA improved mood and positive affect of residents with dementia and led to FC knowing the residents better. Less empathy was observed in FC providing PA, requiring further investigation.