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A randomized controlled trial of the effects of multi-sensory stimulation (MSS) for people with dementia
Baker R, Bell S, Baker E, Gibson S, Holloway J, Pearce R, Dowling Z, Thomas P et al.. The British journal of clinical psychology, 2001-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objectives To investigate short-term effects of Multi-Sensory Stimulation (MSS) on behaviour, mood and cognition of older adults with dementia, the generalization of effects to day hospital and home environments and the endurance of any effects over time. Design A randomized controlled trial comparing MSS with a credible control of one-to-one activities. Methods Fifty patients with diagnoses of moderate to severe dementia were randomized to either MSS or Activity groups. Patients participated in eight 30-minute sessions over a 4-week period. Ratings of behaviour and mood were taken before, during and after sessions to investigate immediate effects. Pre, mid, post-trial, and follow-up assessments were taken to investigate any generalization of effects on cognition, behaviour at the day hospital and behaviour and mood at home and endurance of effects once sessions had ceased. Results Immediately after MSS and Activity sessions patients talked more spontaneously, related better to others, did more from their own initiative, were less bored/inactive, and were more happy, active or alert. Both groups were more attentive to their environment than before, with a significantly greater improvement from the MSS group. At the day hospital, patients in the Activity group improved on their 'speech skills' (amount of speech; initiation of speech), whereas the MSS group remained unchanged during the trial. The MSS group showed a significant improvement in mood and behaviour at home compared to the Activity group whose behaviour deteriorated. No longer-term benefits were shown; indeed, behaviour declined sharply during the month follow-up period. Conclusions Both MSS and Activity sessions appear to be effective and appropriate therapies for people with dementia.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Baker, R., Bell, S., Baker, E., Gibson, S., Holloway, J., Pearce, R., et al. (2001). A randomized controlled trial of the effects of multi-sensory stimulation (MSS) for people with dementia. The British journal of clinical psychology. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466501163508
Vancouver
Baker R, Bell S, Baker E, Gibson S, Holloway J, Pearce R, et al. A randomized controlled trial of the effects of multi-sensory stimulation (MSS) for people with dementia. The British journal of clinical psychology. 2001. doi:10.1348/014466501163508. PMID: 11317951.
BibTeX
@article{baker2001-11317951,
author = {Baker, R. and Bell, S. and Baker, E. and Gibson, S. and Holloway, J. and Pearce, R. and Dowling, Z. and Thomas, P. and others},
title = {{A randomized controlled trial of the effects of multi-sensory stimulation (MSS) for people with dementia}},
journal = {The British journal of clinical psychology},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.1348/014466501163508},
pmid = {11317951},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1348/014466501163508}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Results Immediately after MSS and Activity sessions patients talked more spontaneously, related better to others, did more from their own initiative, were less bored/inactive, and were more happy, active or alert.
- Both groups were more attentive to their environment than before, with a significantly greater improvement from the MSS group.
- The MSS group showed a significant improvement in mood and behaviour at home compared to the Activity group whose behaviour deteriorated.
Why it matters
In this trial, people with moderate to severe dementia were more talkative, happier and more alert right after both multi-sensory stimulation and one-to-one activity sessions. The multi-sensory group also improved in mood and behaviour at home, but this is about short-term wellbeing, not curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designrandomized controlled trial
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 55 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 57 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The British journal of clinical psychology) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | British Journal of Clinical Psychology: journal h-index 146 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2001 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 201 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.4 citations a year over 27 year(s) since 2001 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 15 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Lesley Ann Wareing holds only 9 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Poole Hospital: institution h-index 166 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11317951) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 55 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 55 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 57 out of 100. |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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