The Effect of Group Reminiscence on Loneliness in Iranian Elderly

Deprivation of social activities increases the feeling of loneliness among older adults. Reminiscence as the recall of past events, feelings, and thoughts, is one of the nursing interventions in nursing homes. This study aimed to determine the influence of group reminiscence on loneliness of older adults those living in hospitals affiliated with Guilan University of Medical Sciences in 2019.

In this quasi-experimental study, 32 older who met the inclusion criteria were randomly selected and entered in two groups, intervention and control group. Both groups completed a standard questionnaire as pre-test. After that, intervention group participated in a reminiscence protocol. The schedule was carried out twice a week, eight times and each season last 1 to 1.5 hours.

There was no significant difference in loneliness between the intervention and control groups before the intervention. Loneliness (P=0.0001) was significantly lower in the reminiscence group compared with the control group.

As a dynamic and interactive method, group-based memory recalling can reduce the feeling of loneliness in the elderly.