Effectiveness on Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction for Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Life Review and Reminiscence Therapy across Settings

Background: With the growing trend of ageing, there is an urgent need for effective interventions that enhance positive psychological functions among older adults. Objective: (1) To evaluate the effectiveness of life review and reminiscence therapy in enhancing the quality of life and life satisfaction among older adults. (2) To discover efficacious variables during interventions, such as form of intervention and number of sessions. Methods: Relevant randomized controlled trials in both English and Chinese languages were searched across eight databases. The meta-analysis was conducted by a random effects model using STATA 17. The registration number of this review is CRD42023424085. Results: Thirty-two studies with 2353 participants were included. Experimental groups of older adults significantly improved their quality of life (SMD 1.07; 95% CI 0.48 to 1.66; p < 0.001) and life satisfaction (SMD 1.12; 95% CI 0.63 to 1.60; p < 0.001). Subgroup analyses revealed that individual sessions of life review and reminiscence therapy had a more significant impact on improving quality of life and six to eight intervention sessions could enhance life satisfaction more effectively. Conclusions: Life review and reminiscence therapy hold promise for application in medical and nursing care for older adults, suggesting the potential benefits of implementing intervention designs with effective settings for positive psychological functions.