ABSTRACTGroup cognitive interventions can promote a sense of self-efficacy to older
adults. Due to restrictive social distancing measures in the COVID-19 pandemic,
face-to-face interventions that aimed to promote cognitive health needed to be
adapted to a virtual offering.Objectives:This study aimed to analyze the effects of promoting cognitive health in a
virtual group intervention for community-living older adults.Methods:This is a mixed, prospective, and analytical study. Before and after the
intervention, the tests were applied: Brief Cognitive Screening Battery
(BCSB) and the Subjective Memory Complaints Questionnaire (MAC-Q). Data were
collected at semi-structured interviews related to the adoption of memory
strategies. Statistical tests were conducted for initial and final
intragroup comparison. The qualitative data were assessed using thematic
analysis.Results:A total of 14 participants concluded the intervention. With respect to
mnemonic strategies, the most relevant for the qualifier “Did not use it
before and started to do so after the group” were association (n=10; 71.4%)
and dual-task inhibition (n=9; 64.3%). According to the tests, the
intervention improved incidental, immediate, and delayed recall, as well as
the perception of memory for “Remembering the name of the person they just
met,” “Remembering the telephone number you use at least once a week,”
“Remembering where they put an object,” “Remembering news from a magazine
article or television program,” and “In general, how would you describe your
memory now compared to when you were 40 years old.”Conclusions:The synchronous virtual group intervention was shown to be feasible for the
elderly in the community who participated in the study.