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

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.