Paper
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Evaluation of Light Therapy for Taiwanese Older Adults in Long-Term Care Settings
Mann-Chian Wu, MSN1, Huei-Chuan Sung, PhD, MSN, RN1, and Wen-Li Lee, MSc2. (1) Department of Nursing, Tzu Chi College of Technology, Hualien, Taiwan, (2) Department of Radiological Technology, Tzu Chi College of Technology, Hualien, Taiwan
| Learning Objective #1: learn the effects of light therapy on level of depression among older adults in long-term care settings. |
| Learning Objective #2: learn how to apply light therapy for older adults in long-term care settings. |
Light therapy has shown positive outcomes in managing seasonal affective disorders, depression, sleep problems, and circadian rhythm disturbances among older adults. Light therapy can be a useful modality for improving physical and psychological well-being in older adults in long-term care settings. Little is known about the effects of light therapy on older adults in long-term care settings in Taiwan. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of light therapy on level of depression, sleep disruptions, and vital signs among older adults in a long-term care facility. This study used a quasi-experimental design with a purposive sample of 65 older adults in a long-term care facility. Four building complexes of the facility were randomly assigned as two in the experimental and two in the control group. Thirty-four participants in the experimental group received 30-minute (9:30-10:00am) 10000-Lux light therapy in the morning, three times a week for 4 weeks, and 31 in the control group received routine care without light therapy. The study outcomes were assessed at baseline and week 4. The results indicate that participants who received 4 weeks of light therapy had a significant reduction in their depression scores at post-test (t=2.22, p=0.03), but the reduction was not significantly different compared to that of the control group(t=1.32, p=0.19). The experimental group has a significant reduction on frequencies of sleep disruption at post-test(t=2.46, p=0.02), but the reduction was not significantly different compared to that of the control group(t=0.49, p=0.63). The experimental group also has a significant increase on their respiration rate and diastolic blood pressure at post-test, and the increase on both outcomes were significantly different compared to those of the control group (t=-3.02, p<0.001; t=2.16, p=0.03). Light therapy can be used as an effective and alternative modality to improve physiological and psychological well-being of older adults in long-term care setting.