Toys and games design for non-pharmacological intervention among Alzheimer's disease: a thematic review

Donggui YOU

Chinese Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders ›› 2025, Vol. 8 ›› Issue (3) : 207-216.

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Chinese Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders

Abbreviation (ISO4): Chinese Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders      Editor in chief: Jun WANG

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Chinese Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders ›› 2025, Vol. 8 ›› Issue (3) : 207-216. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.2096-5516.2025.03.009
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Toys and games design for non-pharmacological intervention among Alzheimer's disease: a thematic review

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Abstract

Objective: This study aims to explore the application of toys and games in non-pharmacological interventions of Alzheimer's disease, and analyze the current research status, in order to provide guidance for future studies. Methods: This paper adopts literature review and thematic analysis methods. Literature searches were conducted on CNKI, Wanfang, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, Pubmed, and Science Direct using keywords such as "Alzheimer's disease," "dementia," "non-pharmacological intervention," "toys," and "games." Relevant literature from 2020 to 2024 was collected and subjected to thematic analysis. Results: The research indicates that non-pharmacological interventions for Alzheimer's disease are continuously emerging, among which a significant form of treatment is to use toys and games to enhance patients' quality of life. These toys and games stimulate cognitive and sensory functions, improve patients' social interaction abilities, promote physical activity, and alleviate negative emotions such as depression and anxiety. Conclusion: Currently, the toys used in occupational therapy for Alzheimer's disease patients mostly come from existing children's toys on the market or are simple toys developed by researchers in psychology and medicine, lacking research on how to design more tools for occupational therapy for Alzheimer's disease patients from a design perspective. Future research can start from the field of design to explore its principles and methods, in order to provide more beneficial insights and guidance for non-pharmacological interaction of Alzheimer's disease patients.

Key words

Alzheimer’s Disease / Non-pharmacological Interventions / Toys / Game

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Donggui YOU. Toys and games design for non-pharmacological intervention among Alzheimer's disease: a thematic review[J]. Chinese Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders. 2025, 8(3): 207-216 https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.2096-5516.2025.03.009

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