Board Game Intervention to Improve Cognitive and Daily Functioning

SLUMSE was used to evaluate the cognitive function of MCI seniors. SLUMSE is the most popular cognitive screening tool used worldwide to detect patients with dementia and MCI. The scale is comprised of four domains: orientation (e.g., day, year, and place; three questions), memory (e.g., remembering five things; one question), attention (e.g., story review; one question), and executive function (e.g., number counting, animal naming, picture recognition, size discrimination, and clock drawing; five questions). It contains 11 assessment items, with a total score of 0-30. A higher score indicates a higher level of cognition (Tariq, Tumosa, Chibnall, Perry III, & Morley, 2006).

The CMT Memory Subscale was used to assess the memory function of MCI seniors. The CMT, a standardized memory assessment tool developed by Toglia (1993) for occupational therapists, was used to assess individual memory and meta-memory functions. This test consists of 2 cards with 20 items each related to a restaurant or breakfast (Tsai, 2006). Each card is divided into 3 dimensions: the recall subscale (40 questions), the recall awareness subscale (7 questions), and the memory strategy use subscale (6 questions). Only the recall subscale was used in this study, which included 2 dimensions: immediate recall (20 questions) and delayed recall (20 questions). Immediate recall is the ability to recall information that was accessed within 60 seconds; delayed recall is the ability to recall information that was accessed several minutes or hours ago. The total score for both immediate recall and delayed recall was 0-20, with higher scores indicating better recall ability.

The TMT-A, designed by Partington (1949), was used to assess the focused attention, selective attention, and executive function of MCI seniors. The participants were recorded in terms of reaction time (in seconds), starting with the number 1 and continuing sequentially until the number 25. The test was scored based on the time required to complete the connection, with lower scores indicating better ability (Tombaugh, 2004). This test has good reliability and validity (Kuo, 2018).

The IADL was used to assess IADL function in MCI seniors. The IADL is an eight-question scale developed by Lawton, Brody, and Médecin (1969). This scale is used to assess the ability to maintain independence, which is more complex than the average individual's self-care needs. The IADL is divided into eight dimensions, including cooking, shopping, going out, housekeeping, doing laundry, making phone calls, taking medication, and managing finances. Those who check 1 or 0 are classified as disabled, with a total score of 0-8. In addition, those who need assistance with three or more of the five items (i.e., shopping, going out, cooking, housekeeping, and doing laundry) are considered mildly disabled with a score of 5 or less. The scale has good reliability and validity (Chang, Hsieh, Hsueh, & Hsieh, 2006).