Revitalizing old age: impact of a cognitive stimulation programme on emotional wellbeing and cognitive-executive functioning in older adults from Tacna, Peru.

BACKGROUND

Population aging and the growing burden of cognitive decline make community-based non-pharmacological interventions increasingly relevant for older adults. However, evidence from Peruvian community settings remains limited, and many local programmes combine screening with activities whose cognitive and emotional components are insufficiently described.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the pre-post impact of a structured cognitive stimulation programme on cognitive status, executive functioning, programme participation and immediate emotional perception among older adults in Tacna, Peru, in 2025.

METHODS

An applied, quantitative, quasi-experimental one-group pre-test-post-test study was conducted in community settings. The accessible population comprised 450 older adults, from which 217 participants aged 60 years or older were selected through stratified random sampling. The intervention lasted 6 months and included 60-min sessions two to three times per week in small groups. Eight modules stimulated attention, memory, language, calculation, executive functions, gnosias, praxias and graphomotor skills. Cognitive status was assessed with the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire/Pfeiffer Scale and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), while executive functioning was assessed with the INECO Frontal Screening (IFS). Monitoring and satisfaction forms recorded participation, module acceptance and immediate emotional perception.

RESULTS

Mean MoCA scores increased from 18.06 to 26.66, mean IFS scores increased from 14.62 to 24.50 and mean Pfeiffer errors decreased from 2.11 to 0.54. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed statistically significant pre-post differences for all three measures (p < 0.001), with the same direction of change across central, northern and southern implementation zones. Emotional-perception records showed an increase in the "happy" response from 96.60% before module activities to 99.87% after activities, while sadness decreased from 3.33 to 0.13%.

CONCLUSION

The programme was associated with statistically significant short-term improvements in cognitive screening scores and executive functioning, together with high acceptability and a favorable pattern of immediate emotional perception. Because the design lacked a control group and used screening rather than comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, the findings should be interpreted as evidence of pre-post improvement and feasibility, not as definitive causal proof.