The Effectiveness of Group Reminiscence on Defeat, Gratitude and Optimism Feelings in the Elderly Women in Nursing Homes

Research on aging and the evaluation of therapeutic interventions to reduce the physical and mental health problems of the elderly is one of the common issues in today's scientific societies. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of group reminiscence on feeling defeated, grateful and optimistic among elderly women in nursing homes in Ahvaz city. It was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest and control group design. The study population consisted of all of the elderly women living in nursing homes in Ahvaz. For this aim, 18 of the elderly were chosen through a convenience sampling method along with inclusion criteria and placed randomly into two groups of experimental and control (n=9). Gilbert & Allan defeat Questionnaire, Godarzie's Islamic-Iranian gratitude questionnaire and Scheier & Carver's Life Orientation survey were used to collect data. Then, group reminiscence therapy was administered on the experimental group in 8 sessions and finally, the posttest was administered to fro experimental and control groups. Data were analyzed using the univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results showed the effectiveness of group reminiscence on decreasing defeat, gratitude and optimism feelings in elderly women. As a result, creating an appropriate environment for participation in positive reminiscence sessions is essential for older people in nursing homes and is effective in improving their mental status.