Nostalgia Bits (NOBITS) (NOBITS)

August 27, 2018 updated by: Giuseppe Riva, Istituto Auxologico Italiano

Nostalgia Bits Project

Reminiscence group therapy is a brief and structured intervention that has been shown to be effective for improving well-being among older adults. Reminiscence helps accepting the ageing process by solving unresolved issues and past losses; the group setting empowers the efficacy of the process by giving back to elderly a way to manage their skills in a wider setting and interact with other people. The sharing of memories reinforces the identity through active tasks, preparing individuals to cope with the final part of the life. However, considering reminiscence interventions for older populations, controlled trials adopting better inclusion/exclusion criteria, standardized measures, and different conditions for comparing the effect are needed.

According to this premise, the trial presents the design of a randomized controlled aimed at comparing group reminiscence therapy with a group recreational activity in a older population. It includes two groups of approximately 20 hospitalized elderly: (1) the Experimental Group, (2) the Control Group. Participants included in the Experimental Group will receive a group reminiscence therapy of six sessions, while the Control Group will participate in a recreational group discussion. Between design with repeated measures will be used to evaluate changes in self-reported outcome measures of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, life satisfaction, quality of life across baseline, post-intervention and three months post-intervention.

What the investigators would like to show with the present trial is the efficacy of a group reminiscence intervention in a hospitalized population of older adults: focusing on specific past events and re-living them in a group environment may enhance the self-esteem and quality of life better than a simple group discussion.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The present trial is based on a randomized controlled study. The investigators will recruited 40 participants, including two groups of at least 20 hospitalized elderly: 1) the experimental group 2) the control group. Participants included in the experimental condition will take part to group reminiscence therapy sessions, while the control group will take part to recreational group discussions. Psychometric outcomes will serve as quantitative dependent variables.

A group setting lead by two psychologists is planned for both conditions. Each meeting will last 60 minutes and 6 participant will take part to it. The real setting will be the nursing home: a comfortable room will be provided, accessible also to wheel-chairs, participants will sit in circle. The involvement of each participant is encouraged, trying to stimulate the discussion/debate in a positive atmosphere. Personal critics, moral judgments or political statements are stopped.

Following, a description of the protocol in details for the experimental and the control group.

  1. In the experimental condition, everything begins ensuring the participants that all the memories shared will not be spread out of the group. Every session will deal with a theme, recalling specific autobiographic experiences; they will be suggested following a chronological order. Participants are encouraged to bring photos or objects related to past themes: at the end of each meeting the theme of the following is revealed. The researchers can also bring materials as cues for reminiscence.
  2. In the control condition, Every meeting will offer topics for discussion taken from newspaper and newscasts: personal opinions are promoted, and links with the daily life of participants are welcome (everyday activities, personal preferences). The main goal is to stimulate the social interaction and the communication, without dealing with personal events from the past nor private memories.

3-months follow up is planned in order to verify the efficacy of the training over time.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • MI
      • Milano, MI, Italy, 20100
        • Istituto Auxologico Italiano

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

65 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 65 years of age, or older.
  • Hospitalized elderly

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Major depressive symptoms, as indicated by a minimum score of 17 on GDS.
  • Cognitive impairment, as indicated by a maximum score of 21 of MMSE that corresponds to mild dementia.
  • Currently receiving any other psychological treatment for improving wellbeing.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Group Reminescence
In the experimental condition, everything begins ensuring the participants that all the memories shared will not be spread out of the group. Every session will deal with a theme, recalling specific autobiographic experiences; they will be suggested following a chronological order. Participants are encouraged to bring photos or objects related to past themes: at the end of each meeting the theme of the following is revealed. The researchers can also bring materials as cues for reminiscence.
Behavioral: Reminiscence therapy
Active Comparator: Group discussion
In the control condition, every meeting will offer topics for discussion taken from newspaper and newscasts: personal opinions are promoted, and links with the daily life of participants are welcome (everyday activities, personal preferences). The main goal is to stimulate the social interaction and the communication, without dealing with personal events from the past nor private memories.
Behavioral: Active participation in group setting

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Evidence of reminiscence effect on psychological well-being
Time Frame: 6 weeks
6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Reminiscence function
Time Frame: 6 weeks
6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Istituto Auxologico Italiano

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 31, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 28, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

March 4, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 29, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 27, 2018

Last Verified

August 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 03A901
  • AAL-2009-2-131 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Grant/Funding Number: European Union - AAL Joint Programme)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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