Effect of an Educational Intervention on Working Memory in the Older Adult: Quasi-experimental Study with Popular Games

Abstract

In Mexico, by the year 2012, 9.34% of the population will be over 60 years old, and in 2030, 17.86% will be. It is calculated that 70% of Mexico’s elderly population express a memory deficit. The object of this work is to determine the efficacy of an educational intervention on the Working Memory (WM)* in the older adult though popular games, measuring the WM before (Week 0) and after the intervention (Week 5), in 25 subjects assigned to 2 groups. Used as instruments of measurement were the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale® - Third Edition (WAIS®-III), and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The length of training was five weeks; the WM was evaluated before and after with the student t-test and with intragroup ANOVA. The control group received no training. In the study group there was observed a significant difference between the measurements (MMSE p= 0.012 and WAIS®-III p= 0.02); in the control group the difference shown was not significant (MMSE p= 0.8 and WAIS®-III p= 0.9), while the ANOVA showed differences only within the study group. Results of the project allow us to conclude that educational intervention usings popular games for the older adult shows favorable results on the WM.

Keywords

• Intervención educativa
• memoria de trabajo
• adulto mayor
• juegos.