Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with no literacy are at increased risk of progression to dementia. Whether it is feasible to engage this population in visual art therapy (VAT) and yield effects on cognition and depression remained unclear. A pilot mixed-method single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted in a sample of community-dwelling older adults with MCI. The experimental group (n = 21) was assigned to 12 sessions of VAT over 6 weeks, and the control group (n = 18) was assigned to 6 weekly health education (HE) on nonbrain health topics. Participants were evaluated at baseline using Montreal Cognitive Assessment-5-minute protocol (MoCA-5-min) and Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-SF). A focus group discussion (FGD) was also conducted to the experimental group to explore their experiences of participating in the VAT. Findings indicated that both VAT and HE groups had significant improvement in MoCA-5-min scores and depressed mood over time; however, the significant group × time interaction effect was noted only for the psychological outcome. Findings from the FGD indicated that participants had challenging experiences at the beginning of the therapy, but later, they were able to cope and found that the VAT was relevant and beneficial for their cognitive and psychosocial health. This pilot study provided initial evidence about the potential benefit of VAT in improving cognitive and psychological well-being of older adults with MCI and low literacy and provided insights on how to better engage them in this cognitive stimulating intervention. A full-scale trial is recommended for a stringent evaluation.

中文翻译：

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患有轻度认知障碍的文盲成年人可以实施视觉艺术疗法吗？混合方法试验随机对照试验。

没有读写能力的轻度认知障碍（MCI）老年人患痴呆症的风险增加。尚不清楚使该人群参与视觉艺术治疗（VAT）以及对认知和抑郁的屈服效果尚不清楚。一项针对混合型MCI社区老年人的样本进​​行了混合方法单盲试验的随机对照试验。实验组（n = 21）被分配了6个星期的12个疗程的增值税，对照组（n = 18）被分配了6个关于非脑健康主题的每周健康教育（HE）。使用蒙特利尔认知评估5分钟方案（MoCA-5-分钟）和老年抑郁量表简表（GDS-SF）对参与者进行基线评估。还向实验小组进行了焦点小组讨论（FGD），以探讨他们参加增值税的经验。结果表明，随着时间的流逝，VAT和HE组的MoCA-5-min评分和情绪低落都有显着改善。但是，只有在心理结果上才注意到显着的组×时间交互作用。FGD的发现表明，参与者在治疗开始时就具有挑战性的经验，但是后来他们能够应付，发现增值税对他们的认知和心理社会健康至关重要。这项初步研究提供了有关增值税对改善MCI和低识字率的老年人的认知和心理健康的潜在好处的初步证据，并提供了有关如何使他们更好地参与这种认知刺激干预措施的见识。建议进行全面试验以进行严格评估。