Aging, Cognitive Impairment, Depression in Old Age, Nursing Homes, Quality of Life
Conditions
Keywords
sunlight exposure, institutionalized elderly, depression, quality of life, cognition function
Brief summary
Background: The transition to long-term care facility can be a stressful and emotional event for the elderly. The evidences showed that the prevalence of depression and the cognition impairment were higher in the institutionalized elderly than the community dwelling elderly. It could affect the quality of life of the elderly and increase risk of mortality. Purpose: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of outdoor activities and sunlight exposure on depression, cognitive function, and quality of life among institutionalized elderly. Method: The design is a randomized control trial. Participants will be randomly allocated to experimental or control groups by block randomization. In the experimental group, participants will be encouraged to reduce time spent on bed and bedroom. Nurses, nurse aids or family will take participants outdoors and exposure their face, hands or arm to sunlight for 15-30 minutes a day, five days a week for three months (if the UV index is over 8 according to the forecast of Center Weather Bureau, the participants will be asked to stay inside). In the control group, the participants will receive routine care. The control group will neither be encouraged to stay outdoors nor limit the chance to exposure to sunlight. Expected outcome: The expected benefit of the research is to improve the depression, cognitive function, and quality of life of the institutionalized elderly.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALsunlight exposure
Participants will be encouraged to reduce time spent on bed and bedroom. We will also take participants outdoors and receiving sunlight exposure (if the UV index is over 8 according to the forecast of Center Weather Bureau, the participants will be asked to stay inside) five days a week for three months
Sponsors
National Cheng Kung University
Chiayi Christian Hospital
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* resident in the long-term care facility for at least 6 months * Barthel Index score is equal or over 20 * able to communicate * life expectancy over 12 months * conscious clear
Exclusion criteria
* allergy to sunlight * diagnosed with skin cancer
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline depression at 3 months | baseline, three month after recruitment | measured with GDS-15 |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline cognitive function at 3 months | baseline, three month after recruitment | measured with SPMSQ |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline quality of life at 3 months | baseline, three month after recruitment | measured with EQ-5D |
Countries
Taiwan
Contacts
Primary ContactTZU-CHIA LIN, Master
Outcome results
None listed