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40/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 40 out of 100. Digital health tools

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Background Engagement refers to the act of being occupied or involved with an external stimulus. In dementia, engagement is the antithesis of apathy. Objective The Comprehensive Process Model of Engagement was examined, in which environmental, personal, and stimulus characteristics impact the level of engagement. Methods : Participants were 193 residents of 7 Maryland nursing with a diagnosis of dementia. Stimulus engagement was assessed via the Observational Measure of Engagement, measuring duration, attention, and attitude to the stimulus. Twenty-five stimuli were presented, which were categorized as live human social stimuli, simulated social stimuli, inanimate social stimuli, a reading stimulus, manipulative stimuli, a music stimulus, task and work-related stimuli, and two different self-identity stimuli. Results All stimuli elicited significantly greater engagement in comparison to the control stimulus. In the multivariate model, music significantly increased engagement duration, whereas all other stimuli significantly increased duration, attention, and attitude. Significant environmental variables in the multivariate model that increased engagement were: use of the long introduction with modeling (relative to minimal introduction), any level of sound (especially moderate sound), and the presence of between 2 and 24 people in the room. Significant personal attributes included Mini-Mental State Examination scores, activities of daily living performance and clarity of speech, which were positively associated with higher engagement scores. Conclusions Results are consistent with the Comprehensive Process Model of Engagement. Personal attributes, environmental factors, and stimulus characteristics all contribute to the level and nature of engagement, with a secondary finding being that exposure to any stimulus elicits engagement in persons with dementia.

Key findings

Results All stimuli elicited significantly greater engagement in comparison to the control stimulus.
In the multivariate model, music significantly increased engagement duration, whereas all other stimuli significantly increased duration, attention, and attitude.
Significant environmental variables in the multivariate model that increased engagement were: use of the long introduction with modeling (relative to minimal introduction), any level of sound (especially moderate sound), and the presence of between 2 and 24 people in the room.
Significant personal attributes included Mini-Mental State Examination scores, activities of daily living performance and clarity of speech, which were positively associated with higher engagement scores.
Conclusions Results are consistent with the Comprehensive Process Model of Engagement.

Why it matters

In nursing home residents with dementia, many different kinds of stimuli led to greater engagement than a control stimulus, and music increased how long people stayed engaged. This concerns engagement and activity, not treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

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Study details

Participants24
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 40/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 178 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	24 participants
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 (participant count stated)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	4 / 7	Cited 87 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	5.1 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011
Impact for its field and year	2 / 6	Cited 1.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Maha Dakheel‐Ali: h-index 20 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Tel Aviv University: institution h-index 1,018 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21946802)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	40 / 100	—

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Read the original

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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

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 names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

APA 7th

Cohen-Mansfield, J., Marx, M. S., Freedman, L. S., Murad, H., Regier, N. G., Thein, K., et al. (2011). The comprehensive process model of engagement. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e318202bf5b

Vancouver

Cohen-Mansfield J, Marx MS, Freedman LS, Murad H, Regier NG, Thein K, et al. The comprehensive process model of engagement. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2011. doi:10.1097/jgp.0b013e318202bf5b. PMID: 21946802.

BibTeX

@article{cohenmansfield2011-21946802,
  author  = {Cohen-Mansfield, J. and Marx, M. S. and Freedman, L. S. and Murad, H. and Regier, N. G. and Thein, K. and Dakheel-Ali, M.},
  title   = {{The comprehensive process model of engagement}},
  journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
  year    = {2011},
  doi     = {10.1097/jgp.0b013e318202bf5b},
  pmid    = {21946802},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e318202bf5b}
}

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