Article

Prospective memory (PM) is essential for productive and independent
living and necessary for compliance with prescribed health behaviors. Parkinson
disease (PD) can cause PM deficits that are associated with activity limitations
and reduced quality of life. Forming implementation intentions (IIs) is an
encoding strategy that may improve PM in this population. OBJECTIVE: To determine
the effect of IIs on PM performance in PD. METHODS: This was a laboratory-based
randomized controlled trial. Participants with mild to moderate PD without
dementia (n = 62) performed a computerized PM test (Virtual Week) under standard
instructions. One week later they were randomly allocated to perform it again
while using either IIs or a rehearsal (RR) encoding strategy. RESULTS: PM
performance was better with the use of both strategies relative to standard
instructions. This effect was larger for tasks with event-based compared with
time-based cues. In addition, IIs resulted in a larger effect than RR for the
nonrepeated tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Strategies that support full encoding of PM cues
and actions can improve PM performance among people with PD, particularly for
tasks with cues that are readily available in the environment. IIs may be more
effective than RR for nonrepeated tasks, but this finding warrants verification.
Future work should address transfer of strategy use from the laboratory to
everyday life. Targeted strategies to manage PM impairment could improve function
and quality of life and significantly affect clinical care for people with PD.

Langue : ANGLAIS