Memory improvement in assisted living elders.

Part of the Cognitive Behavioral Model of Everyday Memory (CBMEM), an eight session cognitive enhancement program, entitled "Memories, Memories, Can We Improve Ours?" was tested with older adults living in an assisted living facility in the midwest. The aims of this quasi-experimental study were: to improve everyday memory, memory self-efficacy, and meta-memory. A total of 19 older adults (14 female, 5 male) with an average age of 83 years participated. For the pretest there were 16 individuals in the experimental group. The experimental group was post-tested one week after completing the intervention. At posttest memory self-efficacy scores significantly increased in the experimental group (M1 = 52.13, M2 = 68.50, where M1 represents pretest and M2 represents posttest). Total memory performance scores were not significantly different at posttest; however the prospective memory items of asking for an appointment (M1 = .56, M2 = 1.25), asking for a belonging (M1 = .62, M2 = .88), and delivering a message (M1 = 1.00, M2 = 1.19) significantly improved.