Puzzle-Playing Group Activity Therapy with Complementary Reminiscence Therapy in Older Adults at Wisma Flamboyan PPRSLU Budi Sejahtera Banjarbaru

Older adults experience various age-related changes, including cognitive decline that may affect memory, attention, problem-solving, and social interaction. This activity aimed to implement Group Activity Therapy (GAT) through puzzle playing combined with complementary reminiscence therapy and to evaluate changes in the cognitive function of older adults before and after the intervention. A pre-experimental design with a one-group pre-test and post-test approach was used. The participants were 8 male older adults aged 65–80 years living at Wisma Flamboyan, PPRSLU Budi Sejahtera Banjarbaru. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) before and after the intervention. The intervention consisted of puzzle activities adapted to the participants’ abilities, followed by reminiscence activities using pictures, meaningful objects, and songs from the past to stimulate memory and encourage social interaction. The results showed that the mean MMSE score increased from 18.75 at pre-test to 25.25 at post-test, representing an increase of 6.5 points. Before the activity, 2 participants had moderate cognitive impairment and 6 had mild impairment, whereas after the activity all participants were classified as having good cognitive function based on the criteria used. These findings indicate that combining puzzle activities with reminiscence can be implemented as a simple, interactive, and enjoyable cognitive stimulation activity for older adults in residential care settings.