The Effectiveness of a Thanks, Sorry, Love, and Farewell Board Game in Older People in Taiwan: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the four themes of life (“thanks, sorry, love, and farewell”) board game to enhance interpersonal communication, interpersonal relationships, and self-efficacy; and decrease loneliness. The participants were a convenience sample of 91 older people recruited from two community activity centers in Taiwan. Using a quasi-experimental method, participants from one of the community activity centers were enrolled as the experimental group, and participants from the other center were enrolled as the control group. The experimental group played the four themes of life board game for 4 weeks. The control group participated in routine community center activities. Compared to the control group, the experimental group had statistically significantly larger improvements in scores on interpersonal communication, self-efficacy, and loneliness at 3 months after the end of the intervention. This study provides a reference for the design interventions for promoting health in older people.

“The Ark of Rights”: Development of a Board Game to Empower Older Adults Regarding Their Rights

“…Physical games, such as card and board games, can be a suitable resource in this group by improving interpersonal communication, interpersonal relationships, self-efficacy, selfcare, and decreasing loneliness [22], as well as enhancing the determined goals behind the game. An important aspect of any game should be a focus on creating engaging experiences and increasing interactivity between participants [11,17].…”

“…An important aspect of any game should be a focus on creating engaging experiences and increasing interactivity between participants [11,17]. Using a board game can facilitate interpersonal communication and relationships by relying on group learning, which leads to exchange, interaction, and connection among participants [12,22].…”

“…In the "Emotional Expression" square, the player must compliment another player. The mediator can invite everyone to participate by complimenting another player [22]. The narrative cards describe situations in which the rights of older people have been respected (blue cards) or, on the contrary, disrespected (pink cards).…”

“…In the "Emotional Expression" square, the player must compliment another player. The mediator can invite everyone to participate by complimenting another player [22].…”

Development and Assessment of the Validity and Reliability of the Short-Form Life Satisfaction Index (LSI-SF) among the Elderly Population

“…Inclusion criteria were older adults (60 years old and above). Exclusion criteria were (i) severe dementia (i.e., the Short Portable Mental State Questionnaire (SPMSQ) score standard in Taiwan was less than 2 [ 26 ]. ); (ii) in the absence of TLSA-LSI reverse encoding item conversion, the answers for all items remaining the same as before; (iii) missing data on the TLSA-LSI and frailty status.…”