Reducing depression among community-dwelling older adults using life-story review: a pilot study.

A life-story review can serve as an effective intervention to express one's inner feelings and provide emotional catharsis. The research aim was to examine the effects of life-story review on depression levels in community-dwelling older adults in Singapore. This pilot experimental pre-post-follow-up study was conducted from July 2012 to February 2013. Twenty-nine older Malays aged 60 and above, with mild to moderate depression, were randomly allocated to the life-story review (intervention) group (n = 15) or the non life-story review (control) group (n = 14). Depressive symptoms were measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 and collected five times over eight weeks. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the effects of the intervention on the elders' depression levels, controlled for age, gender, medication use, existence of chronic disease, and diary writing experience. Reductions in depression scores were found in the intervention group from week 1 (Mean ± SD 5.9 ± 2.3) to week 8 (1.9 ± 1.6) compared with the control group (week 1: 5.0 ± 1.3; week 8: 3.5 ± 1.5). At week 8, the intervention group showed a significantly lower level of depression than the control group (χ(2) = 14.61, p < 0.001). This study adds to prior research supporting the use of life story review in improving depression levels in cognitively intact community dwelling older adults.

The use of text messaging to improve asthma control: a pilot study using the mobile phone short messaging service (SMS).

We have evaluated the feasibility of using the mobile phone short message service (SMS) for symptom monitoring in patients with asthma. All consecutive patients admitted to hospital for asthma during an 11-month period were considered for enrollment (n = 497). Those meeting the inclusion criteria were randomized into a control (n = 60) and intervention group (n = 60). Patients in the intervention group received SMS messages according to a structured workflow, while patients in the control group had no SMS support. In the intervention group, the mean response rate to the messages was 82%. There was an improvement in the Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores in 36 subjects in the intervention group compared to 28 subjects in the control group. There were reductions in the number of nebulizations in 54 subjects in the control group compared to 50 subjects in the intervention group, and reductions in emergency department visits in 57 subjects in the control group compared to 51 subjects in the intervention group. However, none of these differences were significant. There was no reduction in admission rates in either group (P = 0.5). The service was accepted by most patients, but its long-term effectiveness on the management of asthma remains to be determined.