Group Reminiscence Programs for Older Adults Without Cognitive Impairment: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Psychosocial Nursing
• Mental Health Services

Background:

• Reminiscence interventions are used for individuals with and without cognitive impairment.
• Research on reminiscence interventions for older adults without cognitive impairment is less extensive.
• Group session protocols for this population, excluding psychotherapy, require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of group session reminiscence protocols.
• To describe protocols used with older adults without cognitive impairment.
• To exclude interventions involving psychotherapy.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Arksey and O'Malley's five stages scoping framework.
• Searched seven databases for relevant literature.
• Included nine articles in the final analysis.

Main Results:

• Identified significant heterogeneity in available reminiscence programs.
• Highlighted a lack of key elements for protocol replication.
• Found few well-defined reminiscence programs suitable for replication and evaluation.

Conclusions:

• There is a need for more standardized and well-defined reminiscence programs.
• Future research should focus on developing and evaluating structured group reminiscence interventions.
• Replication of well-defined programs is crucial for advancing the field.