The Iranian Protocol of Group Reminiscence and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Institutionalized Older People

Figures & data

Table 1 Iranian Protocol for Structured Reminiscence

Sessions	Meeting Title	Objectives	Motivational Process
1	Understanding the aims, team process and interesting topics.	To be familiar with each other and the environment; to create an interest in people; to feel comfortable at the meeting, to introduce the rules of the program such as the importance of continued attendance and active participation.	Greetings, referrals, Questioners’ role-playing, report of similar work, related pre-organizing and free discussion.
2	Expression of childhood memories, adolescence, and later life.	To create a sense of comfort in individuals, to remind names of important people, to create a sense of belonging, to re-experience childhood feelings, to recall the good and bad aspects of the school, and to rebuild common emotions.	Documents identifying one’s identity, children’s toys and toys of the time, balls and nets, planks, school bags, school uniforms, teacher’s name, school location and school records.
3	Family history, life process and marriage	To remember the good moments of life, what they were doing to maintain their marital relationships, to share common experiences, to reminisce the gifts they have received and about the donations they made for family occasions.	Family members’ photos, birthdays’ photos; wedding photos, and other family occasions.
4	Life in the city and the village and its bitter and sweet memories	To remember the ways of living and supporting rural work such as farming, how to travel from village to town or vice versa, how to go to health centers, the culture and customs of those areas, the problems of urban and rural life, and family connections.	Map of town and village of the birthplace, living distances, geographical location, amenities and services, accidents, games, and travel memories.
5	Expression of work memories and experiences, job positions and successes	To remind the career advancements, encouragements, common fields between members, past enjoyment in the business world, how to find a job, and have savings from work.	Tools, previous currencies, training and skills’ certifications, job appreciations, work uniforms, administrative promotions, permits, inventions and discoveries, business locations, and job type.
6	Benevolence, charity, and worship	To remember the ways of helping and supporting the people affected by floods and earthquakes, attending worship services, visiting patients, helping the poor and needy people, helping build mosques and schools, obtaining wedding dowry and bags for needy students	Pictures & photos of charity places, mosques, schools, mass grants, flood and earthquake reliefs, community and Friday prayers, and patient visits.
7	Memories of wars: front-line, the displacement, and the events of that era	To remind front-line memories, how to help the displaced people, how to serve soldiers, how to help the victims and war-affected people, and attending funerals and memorial services.	Pictures & images of the periods of war and recent conflicts, aerial bombing of cities, war-torn regions, displacement and unhomely and safe areas.
8	Free discussions	To give feedback, plan for such meetings in the future, celebrate together and appreciate the people involved, listen to the participants’ suggestions, and having group photos.	Review photos and images of previous sessions.

Table 2 The Distribution of SF-36 Areas and Dimensions (n=43)

SF-36 Areas & Dimensions		Before Intervention				After Intervention
		Mean	SD	Min	Max	Mean	SD	Min	Max
Functional status	Physical functioning	15.25	6.25	9.1	27.3	18.12	5.95	9.10	27.3
	Social functioning	4.42	1.21	2.5	6.5	4.01	0.90	2.50	6.5
	Physical problems	4.09	1.04	3.25	6.5	5	1.12	3.25	6.5
	Emotional problems	3.03	0.89	2.23	4.67	3.87	0.81	2.33	5
Well-being	Mental health	15.33	1.71	11.40	18.6	17.23	1.69	11.60	20.4
	Vitality	11.99	1.74	7	15.5	11.66	1.5	8.75	16.25
	Pain	5.34	2.03	1.50	8.5	5.34	2.03	1.5	8.5
General health perception		12.59	2.30	7.60	19	13.45	2.47	8.4	20
Overall quality of life		90.30	8.61	77	110	95.23	8.66	76	117

Table 3 The Association of SF-36 Dimensions and Reminiscence (n=43)

SF-36 Areas & Dimensions		MD	SD	*t	p-value
Functional status	Physical functioning	−2.86	3	−6.25	0.086
	Social functioning	0.41	0.98	2.71	0.01
	Physical problems	−0.91	0.9	−6.64	0.065
	Emotional problems	−0.84	0.82	6.72	0.037
Well-being	Mental health	−1.90	1.53	−8.16	0.046
	Vitality	0.33	2.31	0.94	0.35
	Pain	0.21	1.75	0.87	0.41
General health perception		−0.87	1.93	−2.97	0.042
Overall quality of life		−4.93	5.54	−5.83	0.081

Note: *Paired t-test.