The effectiveness of cognitive-reminiscence therapy on loneliness and depression in cognitively intact older adults

BACKGROUND: Aging is one of the most important public health issues. Reminiscence-based interventions are widely reported as having positive effects on psychological outcomes among older adults with dementia, but their effects on cognitively intact older adults have not been evaluated. The current study aims to evaluate the existing evidence on the effects of cognitive-reminiscence therapy on loneliness and depression in cognitively intact older adults. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study followed a pretest-posttest design with a control group. A sample of 30 elderly people were selected using the purposeful sampling method at Saraie Fereshtegan nursing home, in District 3 of Shiraz City, Iran, from September to November 2022 (15 people assigned to the experimental group and 15 to the control group). Eight 60-minute sessions of expressive cognitive-reminiscence therapy were carried out in the experimental group, and the control group received no training. To collect data, the UCLA Loneliness Scale (version 3) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were used. The multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) test using the SPSS software was used for data analysis. The results were considered statistically significant below the threshold of 0.05. RESULTS: According to the findings, the variables of depression (F = 23.17, P < 0.001) and the feeling of loneliness (F = 20.32, P < 0.001) were obtained significantly. In addition, the highest effectiveness of cognitive-reminiscence therapy was related to the variable of depression (0.801). CONCLUSION: Older cognitively intact adults experienced significant reductions in depression and loneliness after cognitive-reminiscence therapy. Such a non-pharmacological approach can be recommended for older adults at the community level.