Research | Cst Australia

Research on CST

Cost Effectiveness

CST is considered cost-effective based on the threshold for cost-effectiveness used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Increasing access to CST in the UK requires increased expenditure on staff, but these costs would be partially offset by reductions in health and care costs.

Knapp, M., Bauer, A., Wittenberg, R., Comas‐Herrera, A., Cyhlarova, E., Hu, B., ... & Wong, G. (2022). What are the current and projected future cost and health‐related quality of life implications of scaling up cognitive stimulation therapy? International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 37(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5633 (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/gps.5633)

The cost of delivering group CST over eight weeks was £30 per week per person when delivered by trained care staff. The cost of mCST was £24 per week per person over a six-month period delivered by one trained care staff member and one researcher.

Comas-Herrera, A., & Knapp, M. (2016). Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST): summary of evidence on cost-effectiveness. England: NHS, 125. (https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/dg-cognitive-stimulation-therapy.pdf)

Participant and Carer Satisfaction

This study describes the SPICE program, a 12-week multicomponent intervention for people with dementia which features 24 sessions of CST (two per week). Participants reported social connection, engagement, and interaction were key drivers of the success of the program.

D’Cunha, N. M., Bennett, M., Mitterfellner, R., Brennan, R., Wiseman, L., Isbel, S., Bail, K., Barrett, L., Rutherford, K., Huang, I., & Gibson, D. (2023). Preliminary Findings of an Active Multicomponent Lifestyle Intervention for People with Dementia and Their Carers: Mixed Methods Study. Health & Social Care in the Community, 2023, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/5395080 (https://www.hindawi.com/journals/hsc/2023/5395080/

Student Delivery of CST

Students from the University of South Australia provided CST to people with dementia living in residential care and in the community. The treatment promoted social interactions, participation and engagement, and students developed skills in empathy and planning of sessions.

Murray, C. M., Gilbert-Hunt, S., Berndt, A., & de la Perrelle, L. (2016). Promoting participation and engagement for people with dementia through a cognitive stimulation therapy programme delivered by students: A descriptive qualitative study. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79(10), 620–628. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022616653972 (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0308022616653972)

Cultural Adaption of CST

Due to the increasing popularity of CST worldwide, a number of research teams have examined its effectiveness in other contexts and cultures. The first paper provides an approach to adapting CST to different cultures, involving collaboration with service users. Examples of adaptation of CST for Portuguese and Chinese populations are provided.

Aguirre E, Spector A & Orrell M (2014). Guidelines to adapt Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) to other cultures. Clinical Interventions in Ageing, 2014:9; 1003-1007. DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S61849

Alvares Pereira, G., Sousa, I., & Nunes, M. V. S. (2022). Cultural adaptation of cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) for Portuguese people with dementia. Clinical Gerontologist, 45(4), 891-902. DOI: 10.1080/07317115.2020.1821857

Wong, G. H., Yek, O. P., Zhang, A. Y., Lum, T., & Spector, A. (2017). Cultural adaptation of cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) for Chinese people with dementia: multicentre pilot study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1002/gps.4663