Effects of group reminiscence on psychosocial outcomes among nursing home residents with intact cognition and mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of group reminiscence therapy (GRT) on psychosocial outcomes among nursing home residents with intact cognition and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, EBSCO, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Wanfang, CNKI, SinoMed, VIP, and Google Scholar were searched from inception to September 2025. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies investigating GRT among nursing home residents aged ≥60 years with intact cognition and MCI were included. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 and Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tools, and meta-analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.4.

RESULTS

Nineteen studies involving 925 nursing home residents were included, comprising 4 RCTs and 15 quasi-experimental studies. GRT significantly reduced depression (SMD = -1.38; 95 %CI: -1.72, -1.05; P < 0.001) and death anxiety (SMD = -1.09; 95 %CI: -1.57, -0.62; P < 0.001), while significantly improving life satisfaction (SMD = 0.94; 95 %CI: 0.34, 1.54; P = 0.002), self-esteem (SMD = 1.21; 95 %CI: 0.59, 1.83; P < 0.001), and happiness (SMD = 0.91; 95 %CI: 0.32, 1.50; P = 0.002). However, the effect on loneliness was not statistically significant (SMD = -1.98; 95 %CI: -4.01, 0.06; P = 0.060). Subgroup analyses showed variations in intervention effects across studies. Sensitivity analyses indicated good stability of the pooled results, and no significant publication bias was detected for the main outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

GRT may improve psychosocial well-being among nursing home residents with intact cognition and MCI by reducing depression and death anxiety and enhancing life satisfaction, self-esteem, and happiness. However, the evidence regarding loneliness remains inconclusive. Further high-quality RCTs with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are needed to confirm the long-term effectiveness of GRT among nursing home residents.