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Impact of a Facial Skin Care Program on Female Elderly with Dementia Associated
Sundown Syndrome

K. Suga, C. Sakakibara, and L. HerreraCadillo 1
1
1
Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Asahi University, Japan
1

Background: Sundown syndrome or late-day confusion, consists of a group of behaviors, feelings
and thoughts that people who have Alzheimer’s or dementia can experience as the sun sets. It may
affect cognitive function, personality and behavior. Nonmedication treatments include environmental
support for lifestyle and activities of daily living. Previous studies have found that a one-month facial
skin care program improved ADL performance and cognitive function in a group of female elderly with
dementia associated sundown syndrome who were living in a nursing home.

Objective: To measure the long-term impact of a facial skin care program on ADL performance,
cognitive function and motivation in female elderly with dementia associated sundown syndrome
residing in a nursing home.

Methods: A skin face care program (SFCP, a lifestyle program for skin care with lotion and emulsion
twice a day) was implemented for 9 elderly female dementia patients (average age: 86 years old)
living in a nursing home. At 1 month and 24 months after the start of the program, the Frontal
Assessment Battery (FAB) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were used to measure
cognitive function and ADL performance respectively; the index of motivation and frequency of
occurrence of sundown syndrome were also measured

Results: At 1 and 24 months after initiation, the motor items of the FIM showed a decreasing trend, but
the cognitive items of both the FAB and FIM were maintained, and there was an improving trend in
motivation and in the frequency of occurrence of sundown syndrome.

Conclusion: Cognitive function and ADL performance were preserved over the 2 years the program
was implemented. These results suggest the effectiveness of FCP for elderly women with dementia
living in nursing homes.

Keywords: elderly women, dementia, sundown syndrome, facial skin care program

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Correspondence: Kyoko Suga, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Asahi University, Japan
E-mail: ksuga@alice.asahi-u.ac.jp

Poster Presentation Abstracts

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