Sunghee H. Tak, PhD, RN

Assistant Professor

My research focuses on therapeutic activity intervention with technology for elders.  I am currently examining the effects of computer-assisted stimulating activity intervention on cognitive funtion, depression, and sleep in nursing home residents with dementia and older women with osteoarthritis living in low income housing.  The research studies have been funded by the UAMS Alzheimer’s Disease Center, NINR P20 Exploratory Center Pilot Grant program, and Beverly Healthcare Inc. Preserving cognitive ability is critical for maintaining activities of daily living and staying socially connected with others. Recent studies suggest that multi-sensory activities stimulate a person’s unconscious cognitive processes, reduce the risk of dementia, and diminish boredom and excessive unstructured time in elders. Further, activity participation has increased positive affect, improved memory retrieval, and led to a more positive sense of self in persons with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). However, activities can be frustrating, uninteresting, and meaningless unless they fit the competencies, preferences, and needs of persons with AD. Tailoring activities is important to make them meaningful and increase participation and satisfaction with the activity. Advances in computer technology provide the capacity to systematically individualize multi-sensory stimulating activities to persons’ cognitive and functional ability while meeting elders’ needs for enjoyment and possibly providing relief for caregivers. The research studies uses computers to provide elders with dementia multi-sensory stimulation that can be repeated on demand, interactive with value-free instant feedback, and modified in speed and level of cognitive challenges. These pilot projects are developing a standardized decision-making algorithm (dosage, frequency, and content of stimulation) and practice guidelines for tailoring computer-assisted stimulating activities in elders with AD and disability.