Can narrative reminiscence intervention improve mental well-being in elderly people?
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN17562176 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN17562176 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | A-19-0002 |
- Submission date
- 01/07/2021
- Registration date
- 07/07/2021
- Last edited
- 03/10/2023
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of the narrative and reminiscence intervention (NRi) and its effectiveness at improving intergenerational relationships between older adults and their children/grandchildren, quality of life and subjective well-being.
Who can participate?
Families will be recruited including one elderly participant aged 60 or above together with his or her child/grandchild as an interviewer. If the elderly participant does not have a child to participate, the Research Assistant will be the interviewer.
What does the study involve?
All participants will be randomly allocated to either the intervention group or the waitlist group. Intervention group participants will undergo the intervention first, while waitlist group participants will start the intervention from week 16 onwards (after the intervention group has completed the intervention). One-to-one oral history interviews with the elderly will be used in the narrative reminiscence intervention (NRi). The children/grandchildren of the participants or the research assistant will be trained as the interviewers by a team of professionals comprising of psychiatrists and registered nurses. 2-hour training will be conducted remotely on a video conferencing platform (i.e., Zoom). They will be taught the skills to communicate and interview. Then, they will interview the elderly participant on a bi-weekly basis with the pre-defined topics. They will also need to prepare review notes after the interview. The interviews will be conducted at the participants’ homes.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
It is expected the intergenerational relationships of the participating families will improve. Moreover, the knowledge gained may be useful for developing a larger community-based intervention to benefit the public in the future. There are no expected risks for the participants. However, during the interview for sharing their life experiences, it may be possible that few participants may feel emotional discomforts or psychological distress while reviewing their past. During the training session, the interviewers will be taught to handle the negative emotions of the interviewee or be advised to stop the interview if necessary.
Where is the study run from?
National University of Singapore (Singapore)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
July 2018 to September 2021
Who is funding the study?
National University of Singapore MIND Science Centre Seed Fund (Singapore)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Wilson Tam
nurtwsw@nus.edu.sg
Contact information
Public
Level 2, MD 11, 10 Medical Drive
Singapore
117597
Singapore
 ORCID ID |
0000-0003-0641-3060 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +65 (0)65168684 |
| nurtwsw@nus.edu.sg |
Study information
| Study design | Pilot randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Community |
| Study type | Quality of life |
| Participant information sheet | ISRCTN17562176_PIS_V7_01Feb21.doc |
| Scientific title | Effects of a narrative reminiscence intervention on improving intergenerational relationships, quality of life and subjective well-being in older adults: a pilot randomized controlled trial |
| Study objectives | Combining Reminiscence Therapy (RT) and Narrative Therapy (NT) can improve the intergenerational relationship within a family and the quality of life of the participants. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Approved 13/11/2019, National University of Singapore Institutional Review Board (NUS-IRB; Clinical Research Centre (Blk MD 11), Level 5 #05-09, 10 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597; +65 (0)6516 4311; irb@nus.edu.sg), ref: S-19-220 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Intergenerational relationships within families |
| Intervention | Randomization Block randomization with block size 2 will be adopted to ensure the equal number in the intervention and waitlist control group (Mathews 2006). Block 1: {Intervention, Control} (Intervention Group) Block 2: {Control, Intervention} (Control/Waitlist Group) Random numbers (i.e. 1 or 2) will be generated using the MS Excel function “Randbetween” and then put in an opaque envelope to achieve allocation concealment. Intervention group One-to-one oral history interviews with the elderly will be used in the narrative reminiscence intervention (NRi). 66 families will be recruited. The children/grandchildren of the participants will be trained as the interviewers by a team of professionals comprising psychiatrists and anthropologists. The interviews will be conducted at the participants’ homes. The familiar environment and bonding between the family members can provide a safe and comfortable zone for the elderly to openly share their life stories. There will be a total of six 30-minute sessions in 10 weeks. The number and length of the sessions are decided based on previous studies (Wang 2004; Wang 2005). In each session, the interviewers will interview their respective parents/ grandparents with pre-defined aims set based on previous studies (Yen and Lin, 2018). A research assistant will contact the interviewers to remind them to proceed with the interview at the start of the week before each session and the interviewer will be asked to send a message to the research assistant after the completion of each interview. The research assistant will then call the interviewer on the same day after receiving the message or the next Monday (if no message is received) to check the progress. Waitlist control group Those families assigned to the control group will be asked to complete the questionnaire at weeks 0, 6 and 12. Thereafter, the interviewers in the control group will receive the same training as the intervention group (at week 14 or 15) while the interviews will start from week 16. However, no evaluation will be conducted from week 16. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | 1. Intergenerational relationship, measured using the Intergenerational Relationship Quality Scale for Aging Parents (IRQS-AP) measured at baseline, week 6 and week 12 2. Family cohesion measured by the Brief Family Relationship Scale (BFRS) measured at baseline, week 6 and week 12 3. Quality of life measured using World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-OLD and WHOQOL-BREF measured at baseline, week 6 and week 12 |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Loneliness measured using the UCLA Loneliness Scale measured at baseline, week 6 and week 12 2. Subjective well-being measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) measured at baseline, week 6 and week 12 |
| Overall study start date | 01/07/2018 |
| Completion date | 30/09/2021 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer |
|---|---|
| Age group | Senior |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 66 families |
| Key inclusion criteria | 66 families will be recruited from the CHI study including one elderly participant together with his or her child/ grandchild as an interviewer from each family. If the elderly participant does not have a child to participate, the Research Assistant will be the interviewer. Inclusion criteria for the elderly: 1. Aged 60 years or above with child(ren) or grandchild(ren) OR aged 60 years or above without child or grandchild to participate 2. Able to understand and communicate in either English or Mandarin 3. Able to provide consent to participate Inclusion criteria for the interviewers: 1. Elderly participant’s child or grandchild OR the Research Assistant 2. Aged 21 years or above 3. Able to understand and communicate in either English or Mandarin 4. Able to give consent to participate 5. Willing to attend the training session |
| Key exclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria for elderly: 1. With severe cognitive or psychiatric disorders 2. With severe hearing or vision impairments 3. Involved in other clinical trials Exclusion criteria for the interviewers: 1. With severe cognitive or psychiatric disorders 2. With involvement in other clinical trials 3. Involved in other clinical trials |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/03/2021 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/09/2021 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Singapore
Study participating centre
10 Medical Drive
Singapore
117597
Singapore
Sponsor information
University/education
Level 2, MD 11, 10 Medical Drive
Singapore
117597
Singapore
| Phone | +65 (0)6516 3320 |
|---|---|
| nurleee@nus.edu.sg | |
| Website | https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/nursing/ |
Funders
Funder type
University/education
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/07/2022 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Aim to publish one paper in a peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are/will be available upon request from Dr Wilson Tam (nurtwsw@nus.edu.sg). |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant information sheet | version V7 | 01/02/2021 | 08/07/2021 | No | Yes |
| Protocol file | 08/07/2021 | No | No | ||
| Basic results | 03/10/2023 | 03/10/2023 | No | No |
Additional files
- ISRCTN17562176_PROTOCOL.docx
- Uploaded 08/07/2021
- ISRCTN17562176_PIS_V7_01Feb21.doc
- Uploaded 08/07/2021
- ISRCTN17562176 BasicResults 03Oct2023.pdf
Editorial Notes
03/10/2023: The basic results have been uploaded as an additional file.
03/09/2021: The overall trial end date has been changed from 31/12/2021 to 30/09/2021 and the plain English summary has been updated accordingly.
08/07/2021: Uploaded protocol (not peer reviewed). PIS file uploaded.
05/07/2021: Trial's existence confirmed by the National University of Singapore Institutional Review Board.
