The Impact of a Telephone Reminiscence Program

NCT05977608 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: H23-0046
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 90
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to better understand how a telephone reminiscence program impacts reminiscence functions and mental health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults.This study will take 12 weeks to complete and will include approximately 90 study participants. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two telephone reminiscence groups.They will be either assigned to begin a telephone reminiscence program immediately or in 6 weeks. Participants will receive automatic calls three times a week asking the meaningful questions about their lives. At week 1, week 6, and week 12, participants will also be asked to complete assessments via phone, by research assistants using four questionnaires.

Conditions

Mental Health; Loneliness; Social Isolation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Mental health as measured by mean changes in the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) scores

  The Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) (Keyes, 2002) will be used to assess mental health and well-being. The 14 item scale measures emotional, social, and psychological dimensions of mental health. Participants answer each item on a 6-point scale, ranging from 0 and 5, resulting in a total score between 0 to 70. The emotional well-being subscale has a range from 0 to 15, the social well-being subscale scores range from 0 to 25, and the psychological well-being subscale scores range from 0 to 30. Higher scores on MHC- SF indicate a higher level of mental well-being. The MHC-SF has demonstrated excellent internal consistency (\>.80) and discriminant validity in adults in the United States (Keyes, 2005, 2006), and its test-retest reliability has also been demonstrated, with an average of 0.68 over three consecutive three-month periods and 0.65 over a 9-month period (Lamers et al., 2011).

  Baseline, Week 6 (Endpoint), Week 12 (Follow up)

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in reminiscence functions as measured by mean changes in the Modified Reminiscence Functions Scale (MRFS) scores

  Baseline, Week 6 (Endpoint), Week 12 (Follow up)

• Change from loneliness as measured by mean changes in UCLA 3 Item Loneliness Scale scores

  Baseline, Week 6 (Endpoint), Week 12 (Follow up)

• Change from life satisfaction as measured by mean changes in the Satisfaction with Life Scale scores

  Baseline, Week 6 (Endpoint), Week 12 (Follow up)

Study Arms (2)

Group 1

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will be asked to participate in the reminiscence program during the first 6 weeks of the study.

Behavioral: Telephone Reminiscence Intervention

Group 2

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will be asked to participate in the reminiscence program during the second 6 weeks of the study.

Behavioral: Telephone Reminiscence Intervention

Interventions

Telephone Reminiscence Intervention BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive automatic calls three times a week asking their life experiences and personal memories. They can share as much or as little as they would like. They have up to 10 minutes to record their answer and can end the call at any time by hanging up.They will be able to share the stories online with their families if they want.

Group 1; Group 2

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adults age \>60 years;
• English speaking
• Community-dwelling
• Willing to participate in a 12 week study
• Willing and able to share memories using a telephone, 10 minutes, 3 times a week

You may not qualify if:

• Significant hearing loss
• Cognitive impairment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Connecticut: lead
• StoriiCare Company: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Connecticut

Storrs, Connecticut, 06269, United States

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Keyes CL. The mental health continuum: from languishing to flourishing in life. J Health Soc Behav. 2002 Jun;43(2):207-22.

  PMID: 12096700 BACKGROUND

• Diener E, Emmons RA, Larsen RJ, Griffin S. The Satisfaction With Life Scale. J Pers Assess. 1985 Feb;49(1):71-5. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13.

  PMID: 16367493 BACKGROUND

• Russell DW. UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): reliability, validity, and factor structure. J Pers Assess. 1996 Feb;66(1):20-40. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa6601_2.

  PMID: 8576833 BACKGROUND

• Shellman JM, Zhang D. Psychometric testing of the Modified Reminiscence Functions Scale. J Nurs Meas. 2014;22(3):500-10. doi: 10.1891/1061-3749.22.3.500.

  PMID: 25608435 BACKGROUND

• Cudjoe TKM, Roth DL, Szanton SL, Wolff JL, Boyd CM, Thorpe RJ. The Epidemiology of Social Isolation: National Health and Aging Trends Study. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2020 Jan 1;75(1):107-113. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gby037.

  PMID: 29590462 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being; Social Isolation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior; Social Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 12, 2023
• First Posted: August 4, 2023
• Study Start: June 25, 2023
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2023
• Study Completion: December 31, 2023
• Last Updated: July 18, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)