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A Dyadic Cooking-Based Intervention for Improving Subjective Health and Well-Being of Older Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Their Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

  • Original Research
  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

Evidence on the effectiveness of cooking activities as a well-being promotion intervention for older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and their caregivers is scarce. In view of this, a randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine whether a dyadic cooking-based intervention can improve the subjective health and well-being of older adults with SCD and their caregivers, as well as the cooking competence of the former group.

Design

Randomized controlled trial.

Setting

Community.

Participants

Sixty pairs of community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years or above with SCD (mean age = 78.4 years) and their caregivers (mean age = 65.3 years) were randomly assigned to the intervention group (N = 30 pairs) and the wait-list control group (N = 30 pairs).

Intervention

The intervention was an innovative 5-week (two hours per week) dyadic cooking-based intervention employing procedural learning methods specifically adapted for older adults with SCD.

Measurements

The outcome measures included 1) a well-being index composed by four indicators: life satisfaction, feeling of happiness, sense of purpose and meaning in life, and perceived health, and 2) cooking competence.

Results

For both older adults with SCD and their caregivers, the increases in the well-being index were significantly greater in the intervention group than in the control group (β = 0.508, 95% CI [0.036, 0.980]). For older adults with SCD, the increases in the cooking competence score were significantly greater in the intervention group than in the control group (β = 1.629, 95% CI [0.165, 3.071]).

Conclusion

The dyadic cooking-based intervention resulted in improvements in the cooking competence and well-being of older adults with SCD, as well as the well-being of caregivers.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the Social Welfare Department (Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged) for funding the study. We would also like to thank our project partners, including, in alphabetical order, Judy Chan and Lillian Lai from The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas), and Ester Wong, Jojo Ng, Kit-Ying Law, Sammi Chun, Suki Chan, Tommy Wong, Twiggy Wong, and Wilson Lo from the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited. Finally, we would like to thank the participants for their valuable support and participation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Ruby Yu, D. Lai, G. Leung, C. Tong, S. Yuen & J. Woo

Authors
  1. Ruby Yu
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  2. D. Lai
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  3. G. Leung
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  4. C. Tong
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  5. S. Yuen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ruby Yu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Ethical standards: Ethical approval was obtained from the Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. All participants provided their informed consent before participation.

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Yu, R., Lai, D., Leung, G. et al. A Dyadic Cooking-Based Intervention for Improving Subjective Health and Well-Being of Older Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Their Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Nutr Health Aging 27, 824–832 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-023-1990-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-023-1990-1

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