THE EFFECT OF REMINISCENCE THERAPY ON DEPRESSION AMONG ELDERLY LIVING IN NURSING HOME

Abstract

Background: Depression in the elderly in social care is a serious problem triggered by loneliness, loss, and social isolation. Reminiscence therapy is one of the potential non-pharmacological interventions to address this. Objective: This study aims to analyze the effect of reminiscence therapy on reducing the level of depression in the elderly at the Bojongbata Pemalang Nursing Home. Methods: Quantitative research with a one group pre-post test design involved 11 independent elderly people. Depression levels were measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and analyzed with the Wilcoxon test. Results: The average depression score decreased significantly from 6.64 (before therapy) to 1.18 (after therapy) with a p-value of 0.003 (<0.05). The elderly show a positive response through active participation in life experience storytelling sessions. Conclusion: Reminiscence therapy is effective in reducing depression in the elderly in the nursing home. The regular implementation of this therapy is recommended as part of the elderly mental health program