scholarly journals Using the Life Story Book With Mentally Alert Residents of Nursing Homes

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 487-487
Author(s):  
Theresa Chrisman

Abstract Depression and lack of meaning in life (MIL) are common among residents of nursing homes (NHs) and contribute to a reduction in overall health and well-being. Life Story Book (LSB), a reminiscence intervention, is designed to provide a person with the opportunity to review their past and capture their life stories and photographs into a book. LSB has demonstrated positive outcomes for residents of NHs with dementia, yet little is known for residents without dementia. A switching replication design was used to examine the effects of LSB among 21 mentally alert residents from two NHs (NH-A and NH-B) in Houston, Texas. Participants in NH-A received three weeks of the LSB intervention, while NH-B received three weeks of care-as-usual; the intervention was then switched. The GDS-12R and the MIL questionnaire (MLQ) were used to measure depressive symptoms and MIL respectively. Participants from NH-A (n =11) and NH-B (n = 10) had a mean age of 75 years (SD =11.34); 81% female; 52% non-Hispanic white and 33% African American. Results from a one-way MANCOVA found no statistically significant difference on the GDS-12R and MLQ (F(3, 14) = 2.50, p = .102; Wilks’ Lambda = .652; η2 = .35). Further analyses comparing the pre-intervention and post-intervention scores for the entire sample (N =21) found a significant reduction in depressive symptoms (M = 2.67; SD = 2.52) and (M =1.67, SD = 2.29); (t (20) = 2.21, p = 0.039). The potential benefits of LSB for mentally alert residents of NHs warrants further research.

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-455
Author(s):  
Sirlei Ricarte Bento ◽  
Ana Carolina Ottaviani ◽  
Allan Gustavo Brigola ◽  
Vânia Paula de Almeida Neris ◽  
Fabiana de Souza Orlandi ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective :to evaluate the presence of depressive symptoms and cognitive disorders before and after an intervention program with a digital therapeutic game among elderly persons undergoing hemodialysis. Method: a quasi-experimental study was carried out with 26 elderly patients on hemodialysis. For the data collection, a questionnaire relating to sociodemographic and health conditions, the Geriatric Depression Scale - 15 items and Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination Revised were used. The intervention with the digital therapeutic game was performed over 5 sessions. Results: of the participants, 80.8% were male, with a mean age of 66.7 (± 5.8) years. The mean pre-intervention depressive symptom score was 3.9 (± 3.0) while post-intervention it was 2.8 (± 2.9), representing a statistically significant difference (p = 0.005). Regarding cognitive function, there was no statistically significant difference before and after the intervention. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean of the depressive symptom scores, which were lower after the intervention. In addition, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean of the cognitive assessments. Conclusion: intervention studies with patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment are still scarce and this study describes the positive results of an intervention with a digital therapeutic game, demonstrating improvement in the depressive symptoms of the participants.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1679-1691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almudena López-Lopez ◽  
José L. González ◽  
Miriam Alonso-Fernández ◽  
Noelia Cuidad ◽  
Borja Matías

ABSTRACTBackground:Chronic pain is likely to lead to depressive symptoms, but the nature of this relationship is not completely clear. The aim of the present study is to analyze the role of activity restriction in the pain-depression relationship in older people, and to test the hypothesis that this role is more relevant in community-dwelling older people than in nursing home residents.Method:Depressive symptoms, pain intensity, and activity restriction were measured in a sample of 208 older adults with osteoarthritis, 102 living in nursing homes (NH), and 106 in the community. Analyses were carried out using moderation and moderated mediation analyses approach, treating activity restriction as a confounder.Results:Results showed a significant confounding effect of activity restriction, interaction effect between pain intensity and activity restriction on depression, and modifying effect of pain intensity on depression by adding activity restriction into the model. These results suggest a potential mediating and moderating effects of activity restriction. Moreover, analyses suggest that, surprisingly, the strength of the mediation could be higher in nursing homes.Conclusions:Overall, it may be that what is really important to emotional well-being is not so much pain itself, but rather the way in which the pain alters older people's lives. The greater strength of the mediation in NH might be understood within the scope of self-determination theory. Generally speaking, the NH context has been considered as a coercive setting, promoting non-autonomous orientation. In this context, when events are objectively coercive, people may lack perceived autonomy and hence be at greater risk of depression.


Author(s):  
Mohammad S. Sargolzaei ◽  
Milad G. Shirsavar ◽  
Jasem Allahyari ◽  
Ali Bazi ◽  
Abolghasem P. Nasirabady

Objectives: Thalassemia major (TM) is a chronic hematological disease that can have deep effects on patients’ mental health and psychological well-being. So, the present study was conducted to determine the effects of happiness training on the psychological well-being of TM patients. Methods: This quasi-experimental study with a pre/post-test design was performed on 52 patients with TM in Zabol city (Iran) from August to December 2020. The patients were randomly categorized into experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, happiness training was performed in eight sessions, each for 60 minutes. The control group received routine care. The data collection tool was the Ryff's Scale of Psychological Well-being (RSPWB). Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 statistical software using descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (paired and independent t-test) statistics. Results: Regarding the psychological well-being score at the pre-test stage, there was no statistically significant difference between the intervention (74.92 ± 6.36) and control (74.57 ± 5.83) groups (p = 0.83). After the intervention; however, a statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of psychological well-being (p <0.001). Also, a statistically significant difference was seen comparing the psychological well-being score between the pre- and post-intervention phases in the experimental (p = 0.01) but not control (p = 0.12) group. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that happiness training improved TM patients’ psychological well-being. Therefore, this type of training can be used as an appropriate educational strategy to improve psychological well-being in these patients.Keywords: Happiness; Education; Mental Health; Thalassemia.


2020 ◽  
pp. 0044118X2092163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Germani ◽  
Delvecchio Elisa ◽  
Li Jian-Bin ◽  
Lis Adriana ◽  
Mazzeschi Claudia

Establishing a coherent meaning in life has long been considered to be a protective factor of well-being, but this construct has been understudied in early adolescent development. The current study investigated the relationships between family allocentrism and depressive symptoms as well as the mediation effect of meaning in life in 214 Chinese and 201 Italian early adolescents. Although family allocentrism was higher in Chinese than Italian participants, it was significantly associated to lower depressive symptoms in both countries. Moderated mediational analyses showed that in both countries: (a) family allocentrism was positively related with presence of meaning; (b) family allocentrism and presence of meaning were negatively related to depressive symptoms; and (c) presence of meaning mediated the relationship between family allocentrism and depressive symptoms. In conclusion, family allocentrism and presence of meaning in life are important preventive factors of early adolescents’ depressive symptoms in both collectivistic and in individualistic countries.


2020 ◽  
pp. 070674372094053
Author(s):  
Arun V. Ravindran ◽  
Martha S. McKay ◽  
Tricia da Silva ◽  
Claudia Tindall ◽  
Tiffany Garfinkel ◽  
...  

Objective: Patients with depression frequently experience persistent residual symptoms even with optimal interventions. These patients often use complementary treatments, including yoga, as a preferred alternative or adjunctive treatment. There is evidence for the benefit of yoga for depression, but this has not been rigorously evaluated, particularly in bipolar depression. We aimed to determine the feasibility and benefit of manualized breathing-focused yoga in comparison to psychoeducation as augmentation to pharmacotherapy for improving residual symptoms of depression in unipolar and bipolar patients. Methods: Using a randomized single-blind crossover design, 72 outpatients with unipolar or bipolar depression were augmented with the two 8-week interventions at separate times, as add-ons to current first-line antidepressants and mood stabilizers. The primary outcome measure was the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Due to the high dropout of participants after crossover at Week 8, analysis focused on between-group comparisons of yoga and psychoeducation during the initial 8 weeks of the study. Results: There was a significant decline in depressive symptoms, as measured by the MADRS, following 8 weeks of yoga. However, there was no significant difference in MADRS ratings between intervention groups. Similar improvements in self-rated depressive symptoms and well-being were also observed across time. Conclusions: Both yoga and psychoeducation may improve residual symptoms of unipolar and bipolar depression as add-on to medications. In-class group sessions and long study durations may reduce feasibility for this population. Larger trials with parallel group design and shorter duration may be more feasible.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 843-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minyoung Kwak ◽  
Berit Ingersoll-Dayton

Marital relationships have a significant impact on older adults’ well-being. However, when contending with spousal illness or disability, negative exchanges may be particularly detrimental. This study examines the extent to which negative spousal exchanges have more impact on caregiving versus non-caregiving couples. Using dyadic analyses, this investigation compares three different groups consisting of (a) couples who did not provide or receive care, (b) couples in which husbands received care from their wives, and (c) couples in which wives received care from their husbands. We tested for gender differences in the effect of negative exchanges on depressive symptoms among caregivers and care recipients. Based on the 2012 and 2014 Health and Retirement Study, the sample consisted of 3,530 couples in which at least one of the spouses was aged 51 or over. Structural equation modeling was used to test the moderating effects of care and gender. Sociodemographic characteristics were included as control variables. Results indicated that there were significant differences in the magnitude of the path between negative exchanges and depressive symptoms across the subgroups. Among husbands, there was a stronger relationship between negative exchanges and depressive symptoms for care-receiving husbands than for caregiving husbands or husbands in non-caregiving relationships. Among wives, however, there was no significant difference in the path from negative exchanges with spouses to depressive symptoms across care status. We also found gender differences in the effect of negative exchanges on depressive symptoms among caregivers, but not among care recipients. Findings suggest that care status and gender of caregivers and care recipients have significant effects on the association between negative interactions within couples and mental health outcomes.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A230-A230
Author(s):  
Shirley Xin Li ◽  
Ngan Yin chan ◽  
Siu Ping Lam ◽  
Tsz Ting Lui ◽  
Joey W Chan ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Insomnia is often comorbid with depression in youths and both may reciprocally exacerbate clinical outcomes and lead to a constellation of detrimental consequences. The present study aimed to test the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia (CBT-I) and CBT for depression (CBT-D), when compared with waitlist control, in youths with comorbid insomnia and depression. Methods 112 participants aged 12–24 years old (67.9% female) with insomnia and depression according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria were randomised to one of the following conditions: 8-week group CBT-I (n=33), 8-week group CBT-D (n=39), or waiting-list control (n=40). Insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index, ISI) and depressive symptoms (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, HAMD) were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. The two active treatment groups were additionally followed up at post-treatment one-month. Results Linear mixed model showed that both treatment groups (CBT-D: Cohen’s d = -0.44, p&lt;.001; CBT-I: Cohen’s d =-0.56, p&lt;.001) had significantly lower ISI scores at post-intervention follow-up, as compared to the waitlist group. There was a significant difference in clinically meaningful improvement in insomnia (a reduction of ISI score ≥ 6 from baseline to post-intervention follow-up) between the groups (CBT-I: 73.1%; CBT-D: 40.0%; WL: 28.6%; p=.002). Moreover, there was a significant difference in remission of depression (HAMD≤7) at post-intervention follow-up (CBT-D: 75.9%; CBT-I: 81.5%; WL: 22.9%) (p &lt;.001). Both CBT-D and CBT-I resulted in comparable improvements in insomnia and depressive symptoms at one-month follow-up (p&gt;.05). Conclusion Preliminary evidence from this study supports the efficacy of CBT-I for improving both sleep and mood in youths with comorbid insomnia and depression. Support (if any) This work was supported by Early Career Scheme, Research Grants Council, Hong Kong SAR (Ref. 27613017).


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 1884-1893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheung-Tak Cheng ◽  
Emily P M Mak ◽  
Timothy Kwok ◽  
Helene Fung ◽  
Linda C W Lam

Abstract Objectives To examine the longer-term effects of benefit-finding on caregivers’ depressive symptoms (primary outcome), and global burden, role overload, psychological well-being, and positive aspects of caregiving (secondary outcomes). Method Ninety-six Hong Kong Chinese caregivers of relatives with Alzheimer’s disease were randomly assigned to receive the benefit-finding intervention (BFT) or one of the two control conditions, namely, simplified psychoeducation (lectures only; SIM-PE) or standard psychoeducation (STD-PE). Caregivers received four biweekly one-to-one interventions of 3 hours each at their own homes. We focused on outcomes measured at 4- and 10-month follow-ups. The trajectories of intervention effects were modeled by BFT × time and BFT × time2 interaction terms. Results Mixed-effects regression showed significant BFT × time2 interaction effects on depressive symptoms against both control conditions, suggesting diminishing BFT effects over time. Z tests showed that, compared with controls, BFT participants reported substantial reductions in depressive symptoms at 4-month follow-up (d = −0.85 and −0.75 vs. SIM-PE and STD-PE, respectively). For depressive symptoms measured at 10-month follow-up, BFT was indistinguishable from STD-PE, whereas a moderate effect was observed in comparison with SIM-PE (d = −0.52). Moreover, positive aspects of caregiving, but not other secondary outcomes, continued to show intervention effect up to 10-month follow-up. Discussion Benefit-finding is an efficacious intervention for depressive symptoms in Alzheimer caregivers, with strong effects in the medium-term post-intervention and possible moderate effects in the longer-term post-intervention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 178-178
Author(s):  
Pei-Shiun Chang ◽  
Yvonne Lu ◽  
Susan Ofner ◽  
Chi Nguyen

Abstract Interventions are needed to address the frailty and psychological health in middle-aged and older African Americans. Qigong, a traditional medicine exercise, consists of gentle body movements, breathing exercise, and meditation. The benefits of Qigong exercise have been widely reported in Asian adults but there have been no known studies testing Qigong exercise in the African American population. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the potential benefits of an 8-week Qigong exercise in physical and functional ability, balance, frailty, depression and anxiety, and spiritual well-being in community-dwelling middle-aged African Americans using a single group design. Fifteen African Americans aged 45 to 85 years were recruited to receive Qigong exercise over 16 bi-weekly, one-hour sessions. The Layers Module that unfolds the complex multidimensional benefits of Qigong exercise on physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions was used to guide the outcome measures. Data were collected at baseline and 14 days post intervention. Results showed positive trends in repeat chair stands, physical function, and spiritual well-being (p&lt;0.05) with effect sizes ranging from 0.45 to 0.87. Despite no significance, over 52% of the participants showed improved depression scores, fast gait speed, and standing balance than baseline. Nearly 42% demonstrated some levels of frailty improvement than the baseline. No adverse events related to Qigong exercise intervention was reported. Qigong exercise is a potentially promising intervention which needs further testing in a randomized clinical trial.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A294-A294
Author(s):  
Yihan Li ◽  
Megan Miller ◽  
Nicole Torrence

Abstract Introduction Disturbed sleep in hospitalized patient populations is a highly prevalent phenomenon, with patients commonly reporting problems with shorter sleep duration, more frequent awakenings, and overall poorer sleep quality during hospital stay compared to at home. Sleep disturbance during hospitalization is especially problematic as sleep is associated with both physical and psychological well-being. Poorer sleep has been found to impact recovery outcomes in a number of patient populations including mild traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and most recently, in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The current analyses examined pilot data from a novel brief modularized sleep intervention implemented with older adult Veterans living on a subacute rehabilitation unit. Methods Participants were screened for sleep problems upon admission to the unit. Veterans who screened positive were invited to participate in the sleep intervention. Components of the intervention were selected based on screener responses and included group sleep hygiene psychoeducation, environmental accommodations (e.g. ear plugs, eye mask, soothing music), and CPAP use education. Measures completed at pre- and post- intervention assessed sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), global health functioning (PROMIS Global Health Scale), and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9). Pre- and post- scores were compared using paired sample t-tests. Two samples t-tests compared change scores in PHQ-9 between groups. Results A total of 33 Veterans were included in the analyses (Mage = 69.6, 3 female, intervention group n = 21). Participants showed a trend toward decreased PHQ-9 scores following the intervention (t(16) = 1.58, p = 0.100). There were no significant effects of the intervention on sleep quality or global health. Compared to the non-intervention group, the intervention group showed greater decrease in PHQ-9 scores at the time of post-intervention (t(25) = .828, p = .025). Conclusion Preliminary data suggests that a brief modularized sleep intervention may benefit depressive symptoms for older adults during hospitalization. Additional research is needed to better understand the impact of a brief intervention on self-reported sleep quality during the hospitalization period. Support (if any) This project was funded by a VISN 20 Seed Grant as a Whole Health promotion in alignment with the National VA Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation.


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