Methods for preparing a horticultural therapy program effective for tertiary prevention of dementia in nursing homes

我们对养老院的老年痴呆症患者进行了园艺治疗，目的是阐明制定有效预防严重痴呆症发展的园艺治疗计划的方法。干预组和对照组认知功能变化的比较表明，园艺疗法对改善记忆/学习和语言功能是有效的。测量每次活动前后唾液嗜铬粒蛋白-A的水平以及受试者在活动中的状态表明，使用与受试者生活密切相关的植物可以减轻心理压力，改善记忆力，促进积极对话，这表明它适合于专注于痴呆症三级预防的园艺疗法计划。在进行园艺疗法时，应更多地关注听力损失者、从未经历过农业工作的人、以及认知障碍者，因此园艺疗法的效果可能会增加。

We conducted horticultural therapy involving elderly patients with dementia from nursing homes, with the aim to clarify methods to prepare a horticultural therapy program which is effective for preventing the development of severe dementia. The comparison of changes in cognitive functions between the intervention and control groups showed that horticultural therapy is effective for improving “memory/learning” and “language” functions. Levels of salivary chromogranin-A measured before and after each session and subjects’ status during the activity indicated that the use of plants that are closely related to subjects’ life reduced psychological stress, improved memory recall, and promoted active conversations, suggesting that it is suitable for the horticultural therapy program which focuses on the tertiary prevention of dementia. In conducting horticultural therapy, more attention should be paid to people with hearing loss, those who have never experienced agricultural work, and those with cognitive impairments, so the effects of horticultural therapy may be increased.