社區日間照顧中心老人參與正向心理課程對其憂鬱情緒改善成效之探討

Effect of Participation in a Positive Psychology Program on Older Adults’Depression at a Community Day Care Center

本研究聚焦社區日間照顧中心老人參與正向心理課程對其憂鬱情緒改善成效之探討，採前實驗研究法之單組前後測設計，接受每週1 次，每次3 小時，共8 次正向心理課程，對其憂鬱情緒改善進行前測與後測、以瞭解介入效果，同時進行質性之半結構式深入訪談，以深入探討實驗處理之成效。研究結果顯示正向心理課程對於社區日間照顧中心老人在憂鬱情緒改善有成效，質性分析方面顯示對於社區日間照顧中心老人憂鬱情緒改善效益包含「提升正向心理」、「轉移關注焦點」、「增強心理能量」、「自我效能感產生」、「改變負向思維」、「生命意義有新領悟」等方面之效果，正向心理課程對社區日間照顧中心老人心理健康促進是可應用的處遇策略之一。

This study explored the effects of participation in a positive psychology program on older adults’ depression at a community day care center. This pre-experimental study was conducted between October 2018 and December 2018 with nine participants who were aged over 65 years. Following a qualitative research methodology, semistructured interviews were conducted and supplemented by participant observation. All participants joined a positive psychology program for 8 weeks with each session lasting 3 hours. The participants completed the geriatric depression scale before and after the experiment. Subsequent individual semistructured interviews with the participants were used to explore their group experiences. The participants’ geriatric depression pretest scores before and after the group sessions differed significantly. Analysis of the interviews revealed that the positive psychology program substantially improved the participants’ mental health. Outcomes included positive psychological enhancement, a renewed focus in life, reduced negative thoughts, increased self-efficacy, and meaningful new insights for life. The positive psychology program was beneficial for the mental health of the participants. Its application in a wide range of care interventions for older adults should be further studied.