Abstract
Objective: To determine effects of reminiscence using nostalgic songs on community-dwelling elderly with declining cognitive function.
Method: Using nostalgic songs, a reminiscence trial was conducted in the Health and Welfare Center of Town A once a month. The study was conducted for six sessions, each session lasting two hours, from September 2012 to March 2013 (except February). Participants were 11 community-dwelling elderly residents who demonstrated declining cognitive function and a tendency to seclude themselves in their rooms (average age: 82.9±6.3 years old). Hasegawa’s Dementia Scale-Revised (HDS-R), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGC) and subjective health VAS were used for evaluation. A statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test for differences.
Result: Following all the session, both the total HDS-R and the subjective health VAS scores were significantly improved compared with pretrial scores (p<0.05). Among the subscales of HDS-R and MMSE, only “delayed playback” was significantly improved following the sessions (p<0.05).
Conclusion: We demonstrated the possibility that reminiscence using nostalgic songs may effectively enhance retention and subjective feelings of health among the elderly with declining cognitive function.
