Improving Depressive Mood Status and Activities of Daily Living for Older People of Long-Term Care Facilities

Aims: To examine the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulations (TEAS) and cognition action exercise program (CAEP) in managing depressive mood status and enhancing activities of daily living (ADL) performance.

Study Design: This was a multiple-factor, 36-week, cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Place and Duration of Study: Subjects were recruited from long-term care facilities located in Taiwan, between 2013-2014.

Methodology: Subjects were randomly assigned to receive TEAS, CAEP, physical exercise (PE), social visits, or care as usual based on the long-term care facility where they lived.

Results: The PE activity and the CAEP produced a significant reduction in depression score at week 36. Subjects in the TEAS group also showed a small increase in depression score, they displayed mild depressive mood status. Subjects’ ADL performance improved significantly during the 24 weeks but had declined slightly when measured at 36 weeks.

Conclusion: This study provides staff caregivers with a safe, noninvasive, theory-based caring model to prevent the development of depressive mood in older residents and to maintain their self-care performance.