Journal of

Introduction and purpose: Aging is a sensitive period of human being's life which requires substantial attention toward the related needs and concerns. Depression and fear of loneness cause lack of meaning in life especially، among older people dwelling in nursing homes. Furthermore، in the absence of warm relationship with family، nursing home’s residents are prone to depression and meaningless in their life. Poetry therapy could be an effective approach in reducing depression and promoting realization of meaning in life. Therefore، this study aimed at investigating the effect of group poetry therapy on depression and searching for meaning in life among female elderly dwelling in the city of Tafresh. 

Materials and Methods: This study was a quasi-experiment pre-test post-tests research with control group. Using convenience sampling method، thirty female elderly were collected from nursing homes at the city of Tafresh، Arak province in 2013-2014. Participants were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. Data were collected by the Mini Mental status Examination (MMSE)، for screening the participants، Generic Depression Scale (GDS) and Meaning of life Questionnaire (MLQ). The questionnaires were applied two times at baseline and post-intervention.

Findings: The results of t-test in the current study showed that there is a significant difference in the mean of depression، meaning in life   and searching for meaning in life between interventions and controls at post-test (p = 0.03). In addition، paired t-test showed significant differences in the mean of depression، meaning in life and searching for meaning in life between baseline score of interventions and their post-test score.  

Conclusion: Findings from the current study revealed that psychological therapies such as group poetry therapy could help female elderly with reducing depression and maintaining and promoting meaning in life.