The Effectiveness of the Positive Mood and Active Life Program on Reducing Depressive Symptoms in Long-Term Care Facilities

Abstract

Background and objectives: Depression is prevalent among long-term care facility (LTCF) residents. However, interventions are not normally part of the management of these residents due to a shortage of mental health professionals. On the basis of Lewinsohn's behavioral model of depression, we developed a 12-week pleasant activity scheduling intervention, the Positive Mood and Active Life (PMAL) program. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the PMAL program on reducing depressive symptoms and improving quality of life among at-risk LTCF residents.

Research design and methods: We adopted a cluster randomized controlled trial design. Four LTCFs were randomly assigned as treatment sites and three provided care as usual. At-risk LTCF residents (N = 68) were identified using the Mood Resident Assessment Protocol from the Minimum Data Set 2.0. The PMAL program was delivered to 34 residents. The primary and secondary outcomes were depressive symptoms and quality of life, as measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF), respectively.

Results: After 12 weeks, the GDS-15 score in the intervention group showed a reduction from 7.59 to 5.67, with a significant treatment by time effect (p = .006), based on the mixed model analysis; the WHOQoL-BREF score also substantially increased from 69.83 to 86.61 (p = .000).

Discussion and implications: The PMAL program is effective in reducing depressive symptoms of at-risk LTCF residents. It is a feasible intervention that requires minimum resources and can be integrated with standardized assessment systems.

Keywords: Behavioral activation; Depression; Intervention; Pleasant activity scheduling.