Reminiscing ‘helps dementia sufferers’

Reminiscing with dementia sufferers with items and memories from their past can improve the quality of their lives and play an important part in their care and support, research at NUI Galway has found.

The trial, funded by the Health Research Board and led by Professor Eamon O’Shea of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology at NUI Galway, was carried out over three years and involved some 300 dementia sufferers.

It was the largest trial of its kind internationally in the area of reminiscence therapy in long-term settings, and was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a reminiscence-based education programme.