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Spiritual reminiscence therapy for older people with loneliness, anxiety and depression living in a residential aged care facility, Malaysia: A qualitative approach
Author(s) -
Syed Elias Sharifah Munirah,
Petriwskyj Andrea,
Scott Theresa,
Neville Christine
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12598
Subject(s) - loneliness , reminiscence , ethnic group , anxiety , focus group , psychology , qualitative research , gerontology , depression (economics) , population , clinical psychology , medicine , psychotherapist , psychiatry , sociology , social science , environmental health , cognitive psychology , anthropology , economics , macroeconomics
Objective To explore how older people with loneliness, anxiety and depression experience a spiritual reminiscence therapy ( SRT ) program and to explore its acceptability within the Malaysian population. Methods Unstructured observations and a focus‐group discussion were carried out with 18 participants involved in a six‐week SRT program in a residential care facility in Kuala Lumpur. Results Analysis revealed four themes: (i) Enthusiastic participation; (ii) Connections across boundaries; (iii) Expressing and reflecting; and (iv) Successful use of triggers. Conclusions The findings suggest that the process of reminiscence, on which the program was based, was enjoyable for the participants and created opportunities to form connections with other members of the group. The use of relevant triggers in the SRT program that related to Malaysian cultures, ethnicities and religions was helpful to engage the participants and was acceptable across the different religions and ethnicities.