Psychological outcomes of life story work for community-dwelling seniors: A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Life story work has a long tradition in the caring sciences and has been found to serve a number of psychological functions. The effects of life story work on the psychological well-being of community-dwelling older people were examined in this study. DESIGN AND METHODS: For this randomised controlled trial, 244 community-dwelling participants in 17 social centres run by a non-governmental organisation were recruited. The participants were randomly allocated to intervention (n = 124) and control (n = 120) groups. Each member of the intervention group worked with a volunteer to prepare his/her life storybook, while those in the control group participated in a social program. Data were collected at baseline, immediately postintervention, and at three and six months postintervention. The outcomes included measures of life satisfaction, self-esteem, general mental well-being and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: No significant interaction effect was observed between the groups over time, except for an improvement in the general mental well-being of the control group at three months postintervention. CONCLUSIONS: A comparison of the findings in the literature showed that some positive results were reported for LSW studies conducted in nursing homes, whereas in community studies, the results were not always positive. Life story work for seniors in the community did not have the same positive outcomes as previously observed among nursing home residents. It is possible that the intervention had a greater effect on more deprived individuals. Community-dwelling seniors can be encouraged to participate in social activities, which apparently can lead to similar outcomes. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Clinicians should not assume that similar interventions can have similar effects when delivered in a different setting. Community-dwelling seniors can be encouraged to participate in social activities, which can also promote psychological wellbeing similar to to the effects of activities related to life story work.

Does life story work improve psychosocial well-being for older adults in the community? A quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated that life story work has positive effects when used on older adults. This study aimed to examine the effect of life story work on the general mental well-being, self-esteem, and life satisfaction of older adults by comparing two groups - one with and one without depressive symptoms. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was adopted in this study. One hundred and twenty-three adults aged 60 or above were recruited from community centers through convenience sampling. They were allocated into two groups based on their level of depressive symptomatology as measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). The intervention was to produce a written life story with pictures and memorabilia in four to six semi-structured sessions facilitated by trained volunteers. The outcome measures included general mental well-being (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ), life satisfaction (Life Satisfaction Scale Index A, LSI-A), and self-esteem (Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale, RSES). Data were collected at baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and at the 3-month follow-up (T2). Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the effect of the intervention on the outcomes. RESULTS: There was a significant interaction effect between the two groups at T1 (ß = 0.244, p < 0.05) with improvements in the GHQ observed in the group with depressive symptomology. No significant time and interaction effects were seen on the LSI-A and RSES. The Friedman test was also used to examine whether the intervention itself would have any effects on the GDS score, with two groups combined. A reduction in the mean GDS score was found to be close to reaching a level of significance (χ2 = 5.912, p = 0.052). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study provided some preliminary evidence that life story work was effective at improving the general mental well-being of community-dwelling older adults with depressive symptomology. Because older adults with different levels of depressive symptoms might respond differently to life story work interventions, our findings offer interesting directions for future studies - for instance, on what population would benefit the most from Life Story Work and what would be the mechanism that renders Life Story Work effective.

Who are the healthy active seniors? A cluster analysis.

BACKGROUND: This paper reports a cluster analysis of a sample recruited from a randomized controlled trial that explored the effect of using a life story work approach to improve the psychological outcomes of older people in the community. METHODS: 238 subjects from community centers were included in this analysis. After statistical testing, 169 seniors were assigned to the active ageing (AG) cluster and 69 to the inactive ageing (IG) cluster. RESULTS: Those in the AG were younger and healthier, with fewer chronic diseases and fewer depressive symptoms than those in the IG. They were more satisfied with their lives, and had higher self-esteem. They met with their family members more frequently, they engaged in more leisure activities and were more likely to have the ability to move freely. CONCLUSION: In summary, active ageing was observed in people with better health and functional performance. Our results echoed the limited findings reported in the literature.