Paper
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Factors Contributing to the Effectiveness of Reminiscence Therapy on Depression in Taiwanese Elderly
Ya-Chuan Hsu, MS, RN, Department of Nursing, Mei Ho Institute of Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan and Jing-Jy Wang, PhD, RN, Department of Nursing, Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
| Learning Objective #1: Realize that reminiscence therapy is a useful nursing intervention for elderly populations and health care providers to promote well-being and quality of late life |
| Learning Objective #2: Realize factors contributing to the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy on depression in Taiwanese elderly |
Objective : The purpose of this study was to examine the factors contributing to the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy on depressive symptoms and mood status for elderly who lived at home alone or resided in long-term care facilities in Taiwan. Design: A longitudinal design utilizing pre-post tests and purposive sampling were conducted. Sample: Forty-eight subjects participated in this study. Intervention and outcome variables: Reminiscence therapy was utilized as a nursing intervention. Outcome variables included depressive symptoms, mood status, age, educational level, number of children, participating number of times and the length of participation. Methods: Face-to-face interview and the study instruments were administered. The interview included the administration of the study protocol and data collection. Intervention protocol was administered approximately once a week, 30-60 minutes each time for the study subjects. The participation period for each subject was approximately 3 to 6 months. Findings and conclusions: Results indicated that the variables of age, educational level, number of children, participating number of times and the length of participation had no statistically significant influence on the scores of depressive symptoms and mood status on the post-test (f=1.36, p=.26;f=1.19, p=.33). All factors together explained 14.5% of the variance in the depressive symptoms and the mood status. However, subjects who participated in the reminiscence study for 20 weeks and longer demonstrated significantly fewer depressive symptoms and better mood status (f=3.52, p=.04), yielding that the length of participation in the reminiscence therapy did play an significant role. Implications: Findings of this study can be taken account as considered factors when health care providers conduct the reminiscence therapy as a nursing intervention for elderly population in Taiwan. Additionally, this study will help to the health promotion and disease prevention for elders in order to promote the well-being and quality of late life.
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