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NCT Number: NCT06881914

Enhancing Life Quality in Community-Dwelling Older Omanis by Telling Their Life Story

This study investigates whether sharing life stories and creating life-story books can enhance the quality of life and life satisfaction and reduce depression in older adults. The primary research question is:

Did the quality of life, life satisfaction, and levels of depression improve more for participants in the intervention group compared to those in the control group?

Participants will be divided into two groups:

* Intervention group: These participants will share life stories and create life-story books. * Control group: These participants will not share life stories or create life-story books.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy Older Adults Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Depression

Age range

60 year–90 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Sultan Qaboos University Hospital

Muscat, Muḩāfaz̧at Masqaţ, 123, Oman

About this study

Background: The main goal of this study is to investigate whether telling their life stories and developing a life-story book intervention affects a group of Omani older adults' quality of life, life satisfaction, and depression symptoms.

Methods: In Oman, a randomized controlled trial with repeated measures was conducted to evaluate the impact of the intervention. 75 older individuals were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n = 38) or the control group (n = 37). Baseline demographic data were collected as an initial reference point. To comprehensively assess changes over time, participants' depression levels, life satisfaction, and overall quality of life were measured at multiple time points: weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8. This longitudinal design allowed for a nuanced analysis of intervention effects across different implementation phases.

This study believes that participants in the 8-week trial of the life-story review intervention were successful in reducing depression and improving life satisfaction and quality of life in the older population. Healthcare professionals can use such interventions to enhance older persons' mental health and well-being.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • aged 60-90;
  • depressive symptoms score between 5 and 10;
  • able to sign the consent form;
  • able to speak Arabic or English;
  • able to communicate without the need for a hearing aid.

Exclusion criteria

  • using hypnotics, sedatives, antidepressants, anticholinergics, antihistamines, tranquilizers, or melatonin for sleep;
  • having a medical diagnosis of Parkinson's, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or a serious mental problem;
  • Participants assigned to the intervention group who did not want to be audio recorded.

Treatment and study plan

Intervention group:

Behavioral

There were 5 sessions for the intervention group. All sessions took place in the participant's home. The first 4th sessions involved participant sharing a particular time of their life event, such as childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and the current stage. Transcripts were prepared and compiled following the completion of the interviews. The participants will proofread their life-story book before sending it for printing. In the 5th session, they were given their life storybooks. A self-report questionnaire was used in every session to collect participants' quality of life, life satisfaction, and depression scores.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline in the depression scores (GDS-15) at 8 weeks

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks.

    The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), Arabic version, was used to collect depression scores. It comprises 15 closed-ended questions regarding how the elderly participants felt during the previous week. Zero indicates no depressive symptoms, and 15 indicates severe depressive symptoms.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline in the life satisfaction score at 8 weeks

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

    The Arabic version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was used to collect older adults' degrees of life satisfaction. The SWLS consists of 5 items with response options ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), and it has good reliability (a = 0.86). A total score of 35 indicates greater life satisfaction; a score of 5 indicates poor life satisfaction.

  2. Change from baseline in the quality of life score at 8 weeks

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks.

    World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQoL-BREF) The World Health Organization Quality of life questionnaire, The WHOQoL-BREF, in Arabic, assesses older persons' health-related quality of life. It is a 26-item test with a 5-point Likert-type scale; a higher score would suggest a higher quality of life regarding the environment, social interactions, psychology, and physical health.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Sultan Qaboos University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Enhancing Life Quality in Community-dwelling Older Omanis by Telling Their Life Story and Creating Life-story Book

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Mar 18, 2025
Registry last updated
Mar 24, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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