Effects of individual reminiscence therapy for older women living alone

Background: The loss of cognitive function and memory interrupts the independent activities of daily living of older women, and it eventually causes role loss, increased dependence, declining self-esteem and low quality of life. Aim: To examine the effects of the individual reminiscence therapy on memory self-efficacy, memory practice, Mini Mental State Examination and quality of life for older Korean women living alone. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test control group design was employed. Seventy-eight older women aged 65 and older who were living alone in Seoul and Gyeong-gi-do, Korea, was recruited through convenient sampling. Individual reminiscence therapy was applied for 1h/week in the experimental group (40 subjects) for 4 weeks. A study questionnaire was designed to measure general characteristics, memory self-efficacy, memory practice (immediate, delayed), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and quality of life. Results: There were significant differences in the effects of individual reminiscence therapy on memory self-efficacy, memory practice (immediate, delayed), and quality of life between experimental and control group. Conclusion: Individual reminiscence therapy was an effective intervention for improving memory self-efficacy, memory practice (immediate, delayed), cognitive function and quality of life of older Korean women living alone. Implications for nursing and health policy: Individual reminiscence therapy can be utilized as a nursing intervention for improving memory, cognition and quality of life of older women in the nursing practice. Health policy needs to give attention to health issues of older women living alone. Individual reminiscence therapy can be utilized as a nursing intervention for improving memory, cognition and the quality of life of older women. Health policy needs to give attention to health issues of older women living alone.