Effects Of Life Review On Mental Health Among Frail Elders In Nursing Home: Randomised Controlled Trial

Objective To examine effects of life review on depressive symptom, life satisfaction,self-esteem and meaning in life among frail elders living in nursing home.Methods A randomised controlled trial was conducted with frail elderly(N = 62)conveniently selected from four nursing homes in Fuzhou. The participants were allocated to the experimental group or the control group according to the sequence generated by the online software. The subjects in the experimental group received life review, which was delivered once a week for 6 weeks, and each section last 30-60 minutes. The controlled group received the routine care. Data were collected at baseline and immediately after life review with GDS-15, LSIA, RSES and PIL. All data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, t test and Wilcoxon rank sum test or Wilcoxon sign test.Results1. Depressive symptoms: This study demonstrated no significant difference(t=0.295,P>0.05) between experimental group and control group in GDS-15 at baseline. There's a significant difference(Z=-2.156, P<0.05)between experimental group and control group at post-test. The experimental group showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms(Z=-3.830, P<0.05) after six weeks of intervention, and no significance difference(t=1.680, P>0.05) was found in the control group.2. Life satisfaction: This study demonstrated no significant difference(t=0.098, P>0.05)between experimental group and control group in LSIA at baseline. There's a significant difference(t=2.217,P<0.05) between experimental group and control group at post-test.The experimental group showed a significant improvement in life satisfaction(t=3.847,P<0.05) after six weeks of intervention, and no significance difference(t=-0.359, P >0.05)was found in the control group.3. Self-esteem: This study demonstrated no significant difference(Z=-0.772, P>0.05)between experimental group and control group in RSES at baseline. There's no significant difference(Z=-1.519, P >0.05) between experimental group and control group at post-test. The experimental group showed a significant improvement in self-esteem(Z =-2.151, P <0.05) after six weeks of intervention, and no significance difference(Z =-1.086, P >0.05) was found in the control group. The change scores between experimental group and control group showed no significant difference(t=1.326, P>0.05) at post-test.4. Meaning in life: This study demonstrated no significant difference(t=-0.477, P>0.05)between experimental group and control group in PIL at baseline. There's no significant difference(t=0.994, P>0.05) between experimental group and control group at post-test.The experimental group showed a significant improvement in meaning in life(t=-2.738,P <0.05) after six weeks of intervention, and no significance difference(t=-0.997,P >0.05) was found in the control group at the point. The change scores between two groups showed no significant difference(t=1.698, P>0.05) at post-test.Conclusion Life review is a non-invasive psychological interventions. It could improve the level of mental health of the frail elderly and plays a positive role to meet the spiritual needs of the frailty. Life review could be integrated into daily care by the nursing homes or health management organizations to promote healthy aging.