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 [<i>p</i> = 0.037, <i>ηp</i>² = 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 [<i>p</i> = 0.017, <i>ηp</i>² = 0.092], Stimulation Level [<i>p</i> = 0.011, <i>ηp</i>² = 0.106], and Need for Prompting [<i>p</i> = 0.013, <i>ηp</i>² = 0.099]). Higher QUALIDEM Positive Affect scores were observed in the PA group, post-test (<i>p</i> = 0.025, <i>ηp</i>² = 0.082), and follow-up (<i>p</i> = 0.042, <i>d</i> = 0.39). PA FC showed less empathy (IRI; <i>p</i> = 0.006, <i>ηp</i>² = 0.185;) than controls, but reported getting to know the residents better (<i>p</i> = 0.035, <i>r</i> = 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.