Computational Thinking as a Novel Framework for Enhancing Cognitive Organization in Older Adults with Cognitive Frailty

As aging populations grow, especially in high-income nations, the burden of dementia-related care continues to escalate both economically and socially. In response, this article introduces Computational Thinking (CT) as a novel, non-pharmacological framework to support cognitive organization in older adults experiencing cognitive frailty. Though CT has gained traction in fields like PK-16 education, including special education, for enhancing executive function and problem-solving, it has not yet been applied to geriatric- or memory-care contexts. This perspective proposes that CT’s core components (i.e., decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking) may align with residual cognitive strengths in mild-to-moderate dementia, offering a strengths-based, meta-cognitive scaffold for processing routines, instructions, and transitions. We provide theoretical rationale, interdisciplinary support, and concrete implementation examples to illustrate how CT can augment existing care models. By emphasizing cognitive structuring over costly service expansion, CT has the potential to complement current interventions and inform more efficient, person-centered dementia care strategies.