Reminiscence-Narrative Therapy for Hospitalized Elderly Patients with Depression: A pilot study / 의료커뮤니케이션

ABSTRACT

Background@#Reminiscence therapy is a form of psychotherapy that ameliorates elderly depression and mental stability. It is more effective when integrated with narrative therapy. This study examined the effects of narrative therapy-based reminiscence therapy on depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and self-integration among elderly depression patients admitted in an open psychiatric ward.Method: We used a non-equivalent control group, a pre-/post-test design, and a convenience sampling method. The study was conducted in the open psychiatric ward of two hospitals from December 2016 to January 2018. The intervention program consisted of five sessions of 40 minutes each. The experimental group received the intervention for five consecutive days while the control group received standard care. We performed descriptive statistics, matched paired t-tests, and independent-sample t-tests to analyze the data. @*Results@#Fifty-six elderly patients from both hospitals completed the study (experimental group=26, control group=30). A statistically significant difference (t=2.45, p=.022) was found in pre-versus post-anxiety scores of the experimental group. @*Conclusion@#This study is meaningful, however, as it broadens the research horizon of intervention for elderly depression patients, especially those admitted to university hospitals. It serves as evidence for nursing intervention for elderly depression patients admitted to psychiatric wards.