Luca Morganti

Intergenerational Group Reminiscence: A Potentially Effective Intervention to Enhance Elderly Psychosocial Wellbeing and to Improve Children's Perception of Aging

Several studies have reported the efficacy of group reminiscence in improving wellbeing in older adults. Still, the potential of intergenerational reminiscence, involving groups of seniors and children, has not been thoroughly investigated. We explored the potential benefits of this approach in a feasibility study, which involved 32 older adults and 114 students participating in a within-subject, repeated measures design. Participants were assigned to 16 groups, each including two seniors and six to eight pupils. The intervention consisted of three weekly meetings, totaling to about six hours of reminiscing activities. Pretest and posttest measures included seniors’ perceived levels of Loneliness, Self-esteem, and Quality of life. In addition, the effects of intergenerational contact on childrens perception of the elderly were investigated by using an ad hoc semantic differential scale. Analyses of pre- and postintervention measures revealed that the elderly participants reported significantly lower values of loneliness and an increase in perceived Quality of life. Further, results indicated that following their participation in the program the childrens attitude towards the elderly positively changed in a positive way. Intergenerational group reminiscence is a potentially effective activity to improve psychosocial wellbeing and Quality of life in healthy older adults and to improve the way younger generations perceive the elderly.

Experiential Virtual Scenarios With Real-Time Monitoring (Interreality) for the Management of Psychological Stress: A Block Randomized Controlled Trial

Background The recent convergence between technology and medicine is offering innovative methods and tools for behavioral health care. Among these, an emerging approach is the use of virtual reality (VR) within exposure-based protocols for anxiety disorders, and in particular posttraumatic stress disorder. However, no systematically tested VR protocols are available for the management of psychological stress. Objective Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of a new technological paradigm, Interreality, for the management and prevention of psychological stress. The main feature of Interreality is a twofold link between the virtual and the real world achieved through experiential virtual scenarios (fully controlled by the therapist, used to learn coping skills and improve self-efficacy) with real-time monitoring and support (identifying critical situations and assessing clinical change) using advanced technologies (virtual worlds, wearable biosensors, and smartphones). Methods The study was designed as a block randomized controlled trial involving 121 participants recruited from two different worker populations—teachers and nurses—that are highly exposed to psychological stress. Participants were a sample of teachers recruited in Milan (Block 1: n=61) and a sample of nurses recruited in Messina, Italy (Block 2: n=60). Participants within each block were randomly assigned to the (1) Experimental Group (EG): n=40; B1=20, B2=20, which received a 5-week treatment based on the Interreality paradigm; (2) Control Group (CG): n=42; B1=22, B2=20, which received a 5-week traditional stress management training based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); and (3) the Wait-List group (WL): n=39, B1=19, B2=20, which was reassessed and compared with the two other groups 5 weeks after the initial evaluation. Results Although both treatments were able to significantly reduce perceived stress better than WL, only EG participants reported a significant reduction (EG=12% vs CG=0.5%) in chronic “trait” anxiety. A similar pattern was found for coping skills: both treatments were able to significantly increase most coping skills, but only EG participants reported a significant increase (EG=14% vs CG=0.3%) in the Emotional Support skill. Conclusions Our findings provide initial evidence that the Interreality protocol yields better outcomes than the traditionally accepted gold standard for psychological stress treatment: CBT. Consequently, these findings constitute a sound foundation and rationale for the importance of continuing future research in technology-enhanced protocols for psychological stress management. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01683617; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01683617 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6QnziHv3h).

Interreality for the management and training of psychological stress: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundPsychological stress occurs when an individual perceives that environmental demands tax or exceed his or her adaptive capacity. Its association with severe health and emotional diseases, points out the necessity to find new efficient strategies to treat it. Moreover, psychological stress is a very personal problem and requires training focused on the specific needs of individuals. To overcome the above limitations, the INTERSTRESS project suggests the adoption of a new paradigm for e-health - Interreality - that integrates contextualized assessment and treatment within a hybrid environment, bridging the physical and the virtual worlds. According to this premise, the aim of this study is to investigate the advantages of using advanced technologies, in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), based on a protocol for reducing psychological stress.Methods/DesignThe study is designed as a randomized controlled trial. It includes three groups of approximately 50 subjects each who suffer from psychological stress: (1) the experimental group, (2) the control group, (3) the waiting list group. Participants included in the experimental group will receive a treatment based on cognitive behavioral techniques combined with virtual reality, biofeedback and mobile phone, while the control group will receive traditional stress management CBT-based training, without the use of new technologies. The wait-list group will be reassessed and compared with the two other groups five weeks after the initial evaluation. After the reassessment, the wait-list patients will randomly receive one of the two other treatments. Psychometric and physiological outcomes will serve as quantitative dependent variables, while subjective reports of participants will be used as the qualitative dependent variable.DiscussionWhat we would like to show with the present trial is that bridging virtual experiences, used to learn coping skills and emotional regulation, with real experiences using advanced technologies (virtual reality, advanced sensors and smartphones) is a feasible way to address actual limitations of existing protocols for psychological stress.Trial registrationhttp://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01683617

Effectiveness of group reminiscence for improving wellbeing of institutionalized elderly adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundGroup reminiscence therapy is a brief and structured intervention in which participants share personal past events with peers. This approach has been shown to be promising for improving wellbeing and reducing depressive symptoms among institutionalized older adults. However, despite the considerable interest in reminiscence group therapy, controlled studies to determine its specific benefits as compared to generic social interactions with peers (group conversations about everyday subjects) are still lacking.Methods/DesignWe have designed a randomized controlled trial aimed at comparing the effects of group reminiscence therapy with those of group recreational activity on the psychological wellbeing of an institutionalized sample of older adults. The study includes two groups of 20 hospitalized elderly participants: the experimental group and the control group. Participants included in the experimental group will receive six sessions of group reminiscence therapy, while the control group will participate in a recreational group discussion. A repeated-measures design will be used post-intervention and three months post-intervention to evaluate changes in self-reported outcome measures of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and quality of life from baseline.DiscussionThe protocol of a study aimed at examining the specific effects of group reminiscence therapy on psychological wellbeing, depression, and quality of life among institutionalized elderly people is described. It is expected that the outcomes of this trial will contribute to our knowledge about the process of group reminiscence, evaluate its effectiveness in improving psychological wellbeing of institutionalized individuals, and identify the best conditions for optimizing this approach.Trial registrationThis trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (registration number: NCT02077153) on 31 January 2014.

Building collective memories on the web: the Nostalgia Bits project

The Nostalgia Bits (NoBits) project aims at fostering interaction between elderly and children through collecting memories. A web-based platform will be developed to allow tangible artefacts of an elderly persons life experience to become a resource to other generations and to connect the elderly users with members of their own generation. Here, we describe the results of a user needs analysis conducted by focus groups and questionnaires with end-users. The sample comprised 23 elderly (M = 65.83 SD = 6.32) and 310 children (M = 11.29 SD = 2.28). The findings were expanded through other two focus groups - one with ten elderly (M = 67.30 SD = 4.30) and one with 11 children (M = 12.45 SD = 1.21) - to obtain specific data for the development of a website based upon the suggestions collected through this user needs analysis. Results showed that both samples accepted the NoBits concept and that supporting collaborative reminiscing with social media is a promising approach to increase cross-generational interactions and mentoring.

How can technology help intergenerational reminiscence? A pilot study

The goal of this study was to test the usability and efficacy of a website designed to support intergenerational reminiscence. The website allows older persons to capture, digitally archive, and share their memories encapsulated in letters, newspaper clippings, postcards, photos and videos. The evaluation involved 44 seniors and 176 children and consisted in two main phases. In the first phase, the usability of the website was assessed in a sample of elderly participants. In the second phase, the efficacy of online reminiscence was tested against a control condition, in which elderly people shared personal memories with children without the support of technology. Main dependent measures included self-esteem, loneliness and enjoyment/engagement with the activity flow. Findings showed that the website was usable and well-accepted. However, the use of the platform did not significantly improve the effects of intergenerational reminiscence, which is an activity that participants enjoyed in itself.

Intergenerational reminiscing: the NoBits project

Il progetto europeo NostalgiaBits prevede la creazione di una piattaforma Internet per favorire l’interazione sociale tra le diverse generazioni, basandosi sulla condivisione e sulla raccolta dei ricordi. In questo articolo vengono presentate le attivita portate avanti all’interno nel primo anno del progetto: un’analisi iniziale condotta tramite focus group con gli anziani (utenti primari) e i ragazzi (utenti secondari) ha permesso di identificare meglio la realta di partenza per sviluppare il sito in base alle esigenze riscontrate.