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Learning Objective 1: identify the depression level which is prevalent among older adults
Learning Objective 2: identify the effect of group reminiscence on older adults'depression
Background/objective: Depression is Prevalent among elderly and can have serious negative outcomes in this age group. Prescription of antidepressant medications for treatment of depression in elderly is very common. Antidepressant medications cause dangerous side effects without improving the underlying depression. Researches show that psychotherapy may be beneficial in treating depression in the elderly. One type of psychotherapy is participation of the elderly in reminiscence groups which has proved to be cost-effective relatively free from harmful effects. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of group reminiscence on depression of older adults in Shiraz jahandidegan center.
Material/methods: a quasi-experimental design was conducted, using purposive sampling. Forty-nine elderly participated in the study and were assigned to five groups. The selected elders participated in six group reminiscence sessions that were held twice weekly for a three week period. A comparison was conducted with repeated measures of depression before, immediately, after and one month after the intervention. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-SF) which consists of 15 items was used as a study instrument.
Results: analysis of data revealed a significant decrease in depression in the elderly subjects immediately after and one month after intervention (p= 0.001).
Conclusion: The result of this study showed that group reminiscence is a useful treatment for older people with depression. This intervention can provide a pleasant and supportive environment for the elders to work out challenges posed at this stage of their life cycle.
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