The Effect of Group Reminiscence Therapy on Depression of Elderly

ABSTRACT Introduction & objective: Global investigations show that the elderly population is increasing because of the health care developments. However, this group is continuously experiencing health problems for example, depression is one of their major problems. The aim of the present study is to determine the effect of group reminiscence therapy on depression of elderly resident of Shahrekord, Iran. Methods and Materials: This is a clinical trial study. The sample was consisted of 64 elderly referring to retirement centre in Shahrekord in 1385 that were selected by convenience sampling, and then divided randomly into two groups: an experimental and a control group. Group reminiscence meetings for experimental group and group meetings for control group were formed each 8 session for one hour and a half. Depression level of investigated subjects’ pre and post intervention were assessed with the use of Geriatric Depression Scale. Descriptive and conceptual statistics were used for data analysis (Chi-square Test, mean - standard deviation- Paired t-test). Results: Findings of this study showed a significant difference between pre and post intervention, where the elderly depression mean score in experimental group changed from 17.95 to 12.99 (p=0.04) but no significant difference were observed in the control group. Conclusion: Considering the result of this study, it can be suggested that group reminiscence therapy is effective on the reduction of elderly depression level. Therefore, we can use this forgotten, easy and practicable and cheap technique in all nursing-homes and even at home