The Effects of a Multimodal Intervention

functional ability. Functional status could be improved with exercise, but exercise interventions are rarely recommended for PWD, despite a large body of evi-dence showing the efficacy of exercise.2 Studies sup-porting the effects of exercise on cognitive function have been conducted primarily in institutional set-tings and with persons at later disease stages.2-5 Cognitive therapies have also been tested extensively in PWD with consistent improvements in cognitive outcomes that are comparable to drug trials.6,7 Support programs, such as support groups, have been used with PWD for over a decade, although systematic studies of the benefits of support programs are lack-ing. Few studies, however, have tested multimodal interventions that combine exercise, cognitive ther-apies, and support programs for persons in the early to early-middle stages of dementia.8 The purpose of this pilot study was to test the feasibility and the effects of a multimodal intervention (Taiji exercise, cognitive therapies, and support group) on cognitive functioning, physical functioning, and behavioral outcomes of PWD. The research questions guiding this pilot study included Persons with dementia (PWD) experience pro-gressive loss of cognitive, physical, and func-tional ability beyond that accounted for by normal aging processes.1 Nonpharmacological inter-ventions initiated early in the disease have the poten-tial to improve outcomes, including cognition an