Football talk benefits people with cognitive decline

The UAB Foundation for Health and Aging presented the preliminary results of its pilot plan, which indicate improved attention, better mood and more communication in people with mild to moderate cognitive decline when they remember and comment on this sport.

24/11/2014

The pilot study on “Development and Evolution of a Football-Based Memory Programme in Elders with Cognitive Decline” (Desenvolupament i evolució d’un programa de reminiscència basat en el futbol per a persones grans amb deteriorament cognitiu) was presented as part of a seminar celebrated on 20 and 21 November at the Alzheimer’s State Reference Centre in Salamanca. Researchers Laura Coll and Sara Domènech, doctor and psychologist at the Foundation for Health and Aging, were in charge of communicating the main results obtained at a colloquium on football and memory. The event was presided by César Antón Beltrán, Director General of IMSERSO, and included the participation of Juan Mari Zorriqueta, President of the Spanish Federation of Veteran Football Associations(FEAFV), Vicente del Bosque, trainer of the Spanish football team, and former football player Michael Robinson.

The study is commissioned and financed by the FEAFV and directed by the UAB Foundation for Health and Aging. The results of this first exploratory phase, based on a group memory intervention conducted at the day hospital Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili in Barcelona and at the senior residence Ballesol Burjassot in Valencia, indicate an improvement in attention, better moods and greater communication in people with mild and moderate cognitive decline, as well as an improvement in the communication with their families and a greater understanding of patients on behalf of the professionals assisting them.

The study was based on memory therapy, a non-pharmacological treatment used to stimulate cognitive capacity. The sessions lasted three months, were conducted once a week during two hours and with 6 to 8 patients with cognitive decline or mild to moderate dementia. The activities included group conversations, talks with former footballers, watching videos and looking at photographs, etc. Part of the therapy included former football players who had volunteered to participate in the activities. Each area worked with the local federation of veteran football associations; in this case with the ones belonging to the Barça and to the València football clubs.

The study will continue with new interventions such as the one programmed for Bilbao with veterans of the Athletic de Bilbao football club.