Does Visual Speed of Processing Training Improve Health-Related Quality of Life in Assisted and Independent Living Communities?: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Visual speed of processing training had clinically and statistically significant beneficial effects on health-related quality of life among 2,802 healthy community-dwelling adults aged 65–94 years at 2 and 5 years post-training in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly randomized controlled trial. We examined whether that effect would be found among older adults in assisted and independent living communities. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a two-arm, parallel randomized controlled trial stratified by assisted versus independent settings in 31 senior living communities and enrolled 351 adults aged 55–102 years. The targeted intervention dose was 10 hr at baseline with 4-hr boosters at 5 and 11 months. The intervention group received computerized visual speed of processing training, while the attention control group solved computerized crossword puzzles. The health-related quality of life outcomes were the Short-Form 36-item Health Survey’s mental and physical component T scores. Linear mixed-effect models were used. RESULTS: Visual speed of processing, assisted living, and their interaction had no clinically or statistically significant effects on the physical component T scores. However, visual speed of processing (p = .022), assisted living (p = .022), and their interaction (p = .007) had clinically and statistically significant effects on the mental component T scores. The estimated marginal means revealed a small effect-sized positive 2.2 point visual speed of processing training effect in the independent living communities, but a clinically important harmful −4.2 point visual speed of processing training effect in the assisted living communities. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Given the medium-sized harmful effect of visual speed of processing training among those in the assisted living communities, caution is advised when using these two visual speed of processing training modalities in assisted living communities until further research verifies or refutes our findings and the underlying etiological pathways.