Effectiveness of board game activities for reducing depression among older adults in adult day care centers of Taiwan: a quasi-experimental study

ABSTRACT

Depression is common in older adults and is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. To clarify the possible roles of board game use in psychosomatic health promotion, this study evaluated the effects of board game activities in reducing depression in older adults. This was a quasi‐experimental study. Purposive sampling was used to select 150 participants aged 65 years and above with intact mental functions who were currently residing in adult day care centers. Seventy-five participants who participated in 12 sessions of selected board game activities were assigned to the experimental group, and 75 participants who adhered to their ordinary activities were allocated to the control group. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection. The board game activities showed promising effects on the depression levels of the investigated older adults living in adult day care centers. Therefore, one possible beneficial effect of board game activities may be reduced depression in older adults. The results of this study provide support for the mediating role of board game activities in the mental health of long‐term care elders. Incorporating board game activities into social work may help to make it more diverse and innovative.

KEYWORDS:

• Effects
• board game
• older adults
• adult day care centers
• depression

Acknowledgments

Sincere appreciation is the administrators and staff of the two adult day care centers for their support and assistance, and to the 150 wonderful older adults for their generous participation.

Contributors

All authors meet the criteria for authorship, have approved the final article, and all those entitled to authorship are listed as authors.

Disclosure

The authors have confirmed that all authors meet the ICMJE criteria for authorship credit (www.icmje.org/ethical_1author.html), as follows: (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interests in this work.

Human subjects

Jianan Psychiatric Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare [JPC-IRB-18-031].