Spiritual reminiscence therapy– is it effective for older people?

Syed Elias, Sharifah Munirah and Neville, Christine and Scott, Theresa (2016) Spiritual reminiscence therapy– is it effective for older people? In: 49th Australian Association of Gerontology Conference, 2nd-4th November 2016, Canberra, Australia. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Introduction: Reminiscence therapy (RT) provides various benefits to older people but numerous studies on the effectiveness of RT have yielded inconclusive results. The integration of a spiritual element in RT which is known as spiritual reminiscence therapy (SRT) may increase the effectiveness of RT. Spirituality is essential in later life as it buffers against depression and reduces the risks of developing loneliness, anxiety and depression. A SRT involves recall of past significant memories by emphasizing the meaning of memories and it guides older people to find meaning of life, future hopes and eventually improves the quality of life. Therefore, this paper aims to determine the effectiveness of a SRT program for older people with loneliness, anxiety and depression. Method: An experimental design was conducted with 34 residents from a residential aged care facility. The participants were randomly assigned into intervention group (six-week SRT) (n=18) and control group (six-week attention control activities) (n=16). The UCLA loneliness scale, the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS) and the Malay version of Geriatric Depression Scale (M-GDS-14) were administered pre-test, post-test and at three-month follow-up. Results: The loneliness scores (p=0.01) and the depression scores (p=0.03) significantly decreased for three time measurements, although the anxiety scores was not reduced (p=0.46). Conclusion: A SRT program may benefit older people with low level loneliness and mild depression living in a residential aged care facility. SRT program still can be suggested to older people with anxiety since no negative experiences were reported. Future studies should extend this to a larger sample and more profound loneliness and depression.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Speech/Talk)
Additional Information:	5377/53036
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Spiritual reminiscence therapy, SRT, reminiscence therapy,RT, older people
Subjects:	R Medicine > RT Nursing
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Nursing > Department of Special Care Nursing
Depositing User:	SHARIFAH MUNIRAH SYED ELIAS
Date Deposited:	14 Dec 2016 10:28
Last Modified:	14 Dec 2016 10:34
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/53036

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