Graduation Year

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Degree Granting Department

Child and Family Studies

Major Professor

Raymond Miltenberger, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Kimberly Crosland, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Kwang-Sun Cho Blair, Ph.D.

Keywords

activity, dementia, engagement, time of day

Abstract

Dementia is a serious disease affecting a growing number of people. With the onset of dementia comes a decline in social activity engagement which can negatively impact multiple aspects of a person’s life. Research suggests that time of day may influence activity engagement of a person with dementia, but such research is limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of time of day on engagement in activities in persons diagnosed with dementia. The secondary purpose of this study was to assess the validity of preference assessments in individuals diagnosed with dementia and determine if low preference is correlated with low engagement in group activities. An alternating treatments design was used with three participants to compare activity engagement during two times of day, morning and afternoon, and during two activities, a moderately preferred and a low preferred. Results showed no differentiation in engagement between morning and afternoon activities for all three participants, with high levels of engagement during both times of day. For two participants, results showed no differentiation in engagement between moderately preferred and low preferred activities. For one participant, levels of engagement were higher during moderately preferred activities than during low preferred activities.

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