Quality of life of nursing home residents before and after reminiscence therapy

This study was conducted to determine the effects of reminiscence therapy as a nursing intervention on the quality of life (QOL) of nursing home residents. This was a quasi-experimental study with a single-group pretest and posttest design. Sampling inclusion criteria were being 65 years of age or older, ability to communicate, lack of hearing impairment, lack of dementia or any given psychiatric disorder, and volunteering to participate in the study. Participants included 32 nursing home residents, who were divided into groups of 2-5 and received a total of 12 sessions of group reminiscence therapy. After the intervention, a decrease was noticed in the total score and subdomain test scores of a QOL scale. Although the study design did not allow confirmation of the effect of reminiscence, analysis showed some useful indications for further research. Additionally, participants stated that the reminiscence program might be a meaningful activity for nursing home residents.