The effect of reminiscence therapy on Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common cause of dementia symptoms in elders. Reminiscence therapy is a form of talk therapy that is used with older adults living with dementia. There are various studies that depict the effects of reminiscence therapy on older adults with dementia, however little research has been done on its effects on elders living with Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, the research question was developed: How does reminiscence therapy effect older adults with Alzheimer’s Disease? The inclusion criteria consisted of studies that have been published within the last 10 years and were written in the English language. Furthermore, studies had to include participants diagnosed with AD that were older than 65 years of age. Articles had to be peer-reviewed and focused on the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy. Studies including participants of any race, religion or ethnicity were included. The exclusion criteria eliminated studies which focused on people living with dementia, cognitive impairment or early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. The search process retrieved 1 systematic review and 6 randomised controlled trails. These were appraised and critiqued using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). The results showed that reminiscence therapy has an overall positive effect on the cognition, depressive symptoms and quality of life of elders living with Alzheimer’s Disease. Reminiscence therapy showed no effect on performance of activities of daily living however a positive effect on neuropsychiatric symptoms was seen. More research must be done on the subject to continue to advance geriatric care as the retrieved studies were limited in sample sizes and thus lacked generalisability. Moreover, from these results various recommendations were suggested such advancements in practice, education and health policies.