Jones, 2003

Jones ED. (2003). Reminiscence therapy for older women with depression. Effects of nursing intervention classification in assisted-living long-term care. J Gerontol Nurs. 29(7):26-33; quiz 56-7.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 3-week, six-session Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) reminiscence intervention on the level of depression among elderly women residing in one assisted-living long-term care facility using a pre-test--post-test, quasi-experimental design. A convenience sample of 30 women (M = 81.7 years) participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups, an experimental group that received the NIC reminiscence intervention and a comparison group that received the customary reminiscence intervention used within the assisted living long-term care facility. Depression was measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale (Brink et al., 1982). Pre-test geriatric depression scores revealed the initial levels of depression were similar for participants in both the experimental and control groups. Post-test geriatric depression scores indicated those participating in the NIC reminiscence group had significantly lower depression scores compared to those participating in the facility's customary reminiscence group. The findings of this study suggest that a nurse-initiated intervention, NIC reminiscence therapy, was an effective treatment in reducing symptoms of depression among elderly women.