The effect of mind education by imagery on depression of elders

One of the most common psychiatric disorders in the twentieth century especially in elderly is depressive disorder. Several studies indicated that the rate of the depression at the nursing homes was 43-86%, impaired quality of life, and increased the risk of suicide and health care cost are the consequences. The present study intended to determine the effectiveness of general guided imagery technique on mental elderly depression. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 39 elders living at nursing home who were randomly allocated in two groups of intervention and control (experimental group: 20, control group: 19). The general guided imagery technique was designed to reduce depression, and was carried out during 8 sessions each of which lasted 30 to 45 minute for 8 weeks. Correspondingly, The Control group received routine services. Additionally, the data collection tools were the questionnaire, the demographic and the geriatric depression scale. To analyze the collected data, Chi-square, Student''s t-test and paired t-test were used. Findings of this study showed a significant difference between pre and post intervention, where the elderly depression mean score in experimental group changed from 9.65 to 5.40 (P<0.000) but no significant difference was observed in the control group (P>0.262). Considering the result of this study, it can be suggested that general guided imagery technique is effective on the reduction of elderly depression levels. Therefore, it is highly recommended to utilize this technique by clinical nurses, nurse managers and nursing students.