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Hsu HC, Chang SC, Liang CY, Ting JR. Intervention to reduce loneliness among older adults in the community: Making friends with volunteers. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24 Suppl 1:240-245. [PMID: 38323733 DOI: 10.1111/ggi.14828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
AIM This study aimed to examine the effects of providing a program that introduced volunteers to make friends with older adults to reduce loneliness and increase loneliness literacy. METHODS Eight community development associations in Taiwan participated in the study. In the first stage, older people living alone or with only a spouse, or those with a family, but without substantial interactions, were screened for loneliness. Older adults with a higher risk of loneliness were given priority to be invited to participate in this intervention. This 3-month intervention program was designed by each community development association and delivered at the older adults' homes. A total of 87 older persons completed both waves of the interviews. RESULTS Loneliness was reduced (UCLA-6 Loneliness Scale scores decreased from 13.5 to 11.6), and loneliness literacy improved (loneliness literacy scores increased from 38.9 to 42.0) compared with what it was before the program. In a generalized linear model, when controlling for covariates, loneliness was reduced, but not significantly (B = -0.934, P > 0.05), whereas loneliness literacy improved significantly for older participants (B = 2.088, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Making friends with older adults who are lonely might improve their loneliness literacy. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 240-245.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Chuan Hsu
- School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Chun-Yu Liang
- Federation for the Welfare of the Elderly, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jie-Rong Ting
- School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Emerson E, Stancliffe RJ, Aitken Z, Bailie J, Bishop GM, Badland H, Llewellyn G, Kavanagh AM. Disability and loneliness in the United Kingdom: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of trends and transitions. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:2537. [PMID: 38114963 PMCID: PMC10729364 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-17481-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Loneliness can have a detrimental impact on health, yet little is known about the association between disability and loneliness. METHODS Secondary analysis of three waves of data collected between 2017 and 2020 by the UK's annual household panel study, Understanding Society. Direct age-standardisation was used to compare the prevalence of loneliness at each wave and the persistence of loneliness across all three waves for participants with/without disabilities aged 16-65 years. Transitional probabilities for the stability of loneliness, the stability of non-loneliness, the onset of loneliness and the offset of loneliness between consecutive waves were also estimated. RESULTS At each wave, the prevalence of loneliness was significantly higher among respondents with disabilities than respondents without disabilities; these inequalities persisted with no evidence of change over time. The prevalence of persistent loneliness was 46% for respondents with disabilities compared with 22% for respondents without disabilities. Risk factors for the likelihood of persistent loneliness included disability, financial stress, not living as a couple, living in rented accommodation, being female and not being employed. The probability of the onset and stability of loneliness between successive waves were markedly higher for people with disabilities compared with people without disabilities. CONCLUSION Adults with disabilities were more likely to experience loneliness, become lonely and remain lonely over time than their peers. Policies and interventions aimed at reducing loneliness should ensure that they are accessible and effective for people with disabilities. Further research is needed to explore the health outcomes of persistent loneliness among people with/without disabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Emerson
- Centre for Disability Research, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
- Centre for Disability Research and Policy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.
- College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, 5042, Australia.
| | - Roger J Stancliffe
- Centre for Disability Research and Policy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Zoe Aitken
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Jodie Bailie
- Centre for Disability Research and Policy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
- University Centre for Rural Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
- School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Glenda M Bishop
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Hannah Badland
- Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Gwynnyth Llewellyn
- Centre for Disability Research and Policy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Anne M Kavanagh
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
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Tough H, Gross-Hemmi M, Stringhini S, Eriks-Hoogland I, Fekete C. Who is at Risk of Loneliness? A Cross-sectional Recursive Partitioning Approach in a Population-based Cohort of Persons With Spinal Cord Injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2021; 103:305-312. [PMID: 34560050 DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2021.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To develop a more thorough understanding of the risk factors for loneliness in persons with a physical impairment, using a population-based sample of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), based on regression modeling and a recursive partitioning approach. DESIGN Cross-sectional, observational cohort. SETTING Community, Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS Community-dwelling persons with spinal cord injury (N=1283) 16 years or older. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Loneliness was assessed using a modified version of the UCLA Three-Item Loneliness Scale. RESULTS Those with the most disadvantaged socioeconomic characteristics in terms of education, income, subjective social position, employment status, and financial hardship demonstrated the highest risk for loneliness. Of the sociodemographic characteristics, only age had an association with loneliness, whereby persons aged 31-45 had the highest propensity for experiencing loneliness. We also saw that those with higher lesion levels and less functional independence were associated with higher levels of loneliness. In conditional inference tree analysis subjective social position, financial hardship, and functional independence had the highest discriminative power, with nationality and living arrangement having a less important role. CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight the vulnerability of persons with SCI with unfavorable socioeconomic status to loneliness. Furthermore, our findings show that persons who are more constrained because of functional limitations may face restrictions to social participation and therefore be at a higher risk of loneliness. This population-based evidence contributes to the better targeting of services aimed at alleviating loneliness for persons with a lower socioeconomic position and those with more functional limitations in everyday life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Tough
- Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil; Department of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, Lucerne.
| | | | - Silvia Stringhini
- Department of Population Health, Epidemiology, and Public Health, HUG - Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Geneva
| | | | - Christine Fekete
- Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil; Department of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, Lucerne
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