Reminiscence. A supportive intervention for the person with Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

1. The person with Alzheimer's disease experiences multiple losses and transitions. The need for therapeutic interventions that preserve integrity, generate and maintain positive self-esteem, and enhance well-being is imperative. Reminiscence may be an appropriate nursing intervention to the cognitively impaired elderly. 2. The advantage of reminiscence as an intervention for the person with Alzheimer's disease is that the intervention focuses on remote memory; therefore, short-term memory becomes less important to both the participant and facilitator in the reminiscing activity. Props, such as photo albums and retrieval cues, may have to be used to stimulate the reminiscing activity. 3. Kovach's preliminary model of reminiscence, along with the observation of positive and negative affect as indicators of well-being, provide a framework for examining reminiscence as a supportive intervention with three individuals at different stages of Alzheimer's disease.