Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a need for healthcare providers to develop life-story review interventions to enhance the mental well-being and quality of life of older adults. The primary aim of this study is to examine the effects of telling their life stories and creating a life-story book intervention on QoL, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction in a group of older adults in Oman. METHODS: A repeated-measures randomized controlled design was conducted in Oman. A total of 75 older adults (response rate = 40.1%) were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 38) or control (n = 37) groups. Demographic data were collected as the baseline. Depression, life satisfaction, and quality of life scores were collected from each participant at weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8. RESULTS: Their average age is 67.3 ± 5.5 years (range 60-82 years). There are more women (n = 50, 66.7%) than men. Over the 8 weeks, the intervention group exhibited a notable decrease in depression (intervention: 2.5 ± 1.2 vs. control: 5.3 ± 2.1, p < .001) but an increase in life satisfaction (24.6 ± 3.1 vs. 21.9 ± 6.1, p < .001) and quality of life (physical: 76.2 ± 12.7 vs. 53.6 ± 15.5, p < .001; psychological: 76.4 ± 12.1 vs. 59.9 ± 21.5, p < .001; Social relation: 78.3 ± 11.7 vs. 61.8 ± 16.6, p < .001; environment: 70.8 ± 10.2 vs. 58.6 ± 16.1, p < .001) compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: The life-story review intervention proved effective in diminishing depression and boosting life satisfaction and quality of life among the older sample within the 8-week study. Healthcare providers can apply such interventions to improve older adults' mental health and well-being.