Effect of a structured course involving goal management training in older adults: A randomised controlled trial

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a structured 6-week neuropsychological course on the executive functioning of older adults with cognitive complaints. Methods: A randomised controlled design was used involving 69 community dwelling individuals aged 55 years and older. Both objective and subjective measures were included to assess executive functioning. General linear model with repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine the intervention effects. Results: After the intervention, the participants in the intervention group were significantly less annoyed by their cognitive failures, were better able to manage their executive failures and reported less anxiety symptoms than those in the waiting list control group. Conclusion: These findings indicate that a combination of psycho-education and training has the potential to change the attitude of older individuals towards their cognitive functioning. Practice implications: Because this training focussed on cognitive functions that are among the first to decline in older adults and the subjective evaluation of the people after training was quite favourable, the proposed intervention may be considered a valuable contribution to cognitive interventions for older adults. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.