Abstract:Objective To systematically evaluate the effect of individual cognitive stimulation therapy on mental health of dementia patients. Methods According to the principles and methods of evidence-based medicine, Chinese and English databases such as CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and APA PsycNet were searched using computer about randomized controlled trials on the effect of individual cognitive stimulation therapy on mental health in patients with dementia, from database establishment to April 2021. Two researchers independently screened the literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted the data and evaluated the quality. RevMan5.3 software was used to analyze the included data. Results A total of 8 RCTs with 1324 subjects were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with the control group, individual cognitive stimulation could reduce the psychobehavioral symptoms of dementia patients (P<0.01). Subgroup analysis showed that, compared with family caregivers who implemented individual cognitive stimulation for 3-6 months, professional caregivers who implemented individual cognitive stimulation for less than 3 months had more significant improvement on mental and behavioral symptoms of dementia patients (P<0.01). Conclusion Individual cognitive stimulation conducted by professional caregivers is more effective than by family caregivers in alleviating mental and behavioral symptoms of dementia patients.