| Sumario: | Objectives: To examine the effect of multisensory therapy in reducing the frequency of agitated behaviors and improving cognition of the geriatric patients with schizophrenia. DESIGN: Experimental pretest posttest control group design. SETTING: Long-term care setting of a state psychiatric hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty patients (average age 78). INTERVENTION: Participants in the experimental group were involved in multisensory therapy programme for 30 minutes per session, 2 times per week for 12 weeks while those in the control group received usual care in the ward. MEASUREMENTS: A quick assessment on patients' level of agitation before and after each therapy session was measured using the Brief Agitation Rating Scale (BARS). Frequency of manifestations of agitated behaviors and cognitive status were also measured using Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory Scale (CMAI) and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) at baseline, mid-intervention, end-intervention and one-month post intervention. RESULTS: Over the 12 weeks study period, participants in the multisensory therapy group showed no significant change in their agitation level, p = .202 (mid-intervention), .323 (post-intervention) and .437 (one month post-intervention). Clinically, there was slight improvement in agitation level. The absolute change in mean BARS total score for each pre-session total to post-session total range from minimum -.07 ± .25 to maximum -1.3 ± 1.06. The mean percentage change from baseline in CMAI score was -10.34, -11.21 and -7.91 at mid-intervention, end intervention and one month post intervention respectively. No significant change in cognition was observed, p = .622 (mid-intervention), .422 (post-intervention) and .490 (one month post-intervention). The absolute change in mean MMSE total score from baseline was -1.14 ± 5.06 at midintervention, -3.25 ± 4.71 at post intervention and -3.25 ± 4.71 at one month post intervention.
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