P209: Psychological therapies for depression in older adults residing in long-term care settings: Are they effective?

Abstract

Objectives:

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to (1) assess the effectiveness of psychological therapies for depression in older people living in long-term care (LTC) settings, and (2) investigate differences in effectiveness between types of psychological treatments.

Methods:

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with participants aged 65 years and older. Participants were required to present with (a) major depressive disorder (MDD) or (b) symptoms of depression based on a score over a cut-point on a validated depression measure. The study setting was LTC facilities, including nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, and residential aged care facilities, where some level of day-to-day care was provided by staff employed in the facility. Treatments were grouped and classified as cognitive-behavioural therapy, behaviour therapy, or reminiscence therapy.

Results:

The literature review identified 19 studies for the qualitative synthesis: 18 were included in a meta-analysis. Results indicated a benefit for psychological treatments on depressive symptoms at end-of-intervention (standardized mean difference (SMD) -1.04, 95% CI -1.49 to -0.58; 18 trials, 644 participants), and at a medium-term follow-up (SMD -0.43, 95% CI -0.81 to -0.06; 8 RCTs, 355 participants), but not in the longer-term (SMD -0.16, 95% CI -0.58 to 0.27; 2 RCTs, 92 participants). There was no difference in outcomes between therapy types.

Conclusion:

This systematic review demonstrated positive impacts of psychological therapies on symptoms of depression in older people living in LTC, both immediately after therapy and in the medium term, but longer-term impacts were not demonstrated.