Life Review: Preventing Despair in Newly Relocated Nursing Home Residents Short- and Long-Term Effects

Abstract

Relocation to a nursing home places frail elders at risk for developing depression and suicide ideation. This study followed two hundred and fifty-six newly relocated nursing home residents for five years. Using a Solomon Four research design, participants were divided into four groups, two control and two experimental, one each with pretesting and all with posttesting. Participants in the control groups received a friendly visit and those in the experimental groups received the intervention of life review. Immediate short-term results showed the life review to be an effective preventive intervention for clinical depression ( p = .05). Additionally, when looking at long-term effects at one year, there were significant decreases in depression ( p = .05), hopelessness ( p = .01), and psychological well-being ( p = .02) with measurable increases in life satisfaction ( p = .08). These findings support the hypothesis that life review prevents despair in frail elders newly admitted to a nursing home.