Social isolation and loneliness among older people: issues and future challenges in community and residential settings.
Linda Grenade,Duncan Boldy +1 more
TLDR
The need to conduct more residential care-focused research; the importance of addressing a variety of methodological concerns; and the need for practitioners to develop intervention programs that are appropriately targeted, evidence-based and evaluated are identified.Abstract:
Although often associated with older age, loneliness and social isolation are not well understood in terms of their prevalence, risk and protective factors. Evidence suggests that only a minority of community-dwelling older people are "severely" lonely or isolated, however a number of factors need to be considered to fully understand the extent and significance of the problem. Community-based studies have identified a variety of risk factors for loneliness/isolation including widowhood, no (surviving) children, living alone, deteriorating health, and life events (eg, loss and bereavement). Having a confidant has been identified as a protective factor for loneliness. However, evidence is often unclear or inconclusive, especially within residential settings. We identified the need to conduct more residential care-focused research; the importance of addressing a variety of methodological concerns; and the need for practitioners to develop intervention programs that are appropriately targeted, evidence-based and evaluated.read more
Citations
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Social wellbeing, locality and ageing: a snapshot of the social lives of older people in rural Australia
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify the various roadblocks to achieving social wellbeing for older Australians with diverse demographic characteristics in a variety of urban and rural living environments, and consider the social construction of age, and the role that social capital; social isolation and loneliness play in shaping the dynamic social experiences and well being of older people in rural settings.
Dissertation
Supporting older people living in care homes: A qualitative network approach
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used an egocentric network approach to construct the support networks of residents, and a critical realist approach to qualitative data analysis in order to identify mechanisms which may impact a resident's network and wellbeing.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Social networks, host resistance, and mortality: a nine-year follow-up study of Alameda County residents
Lisa F. Berkman,S L Syme +1 more
TL;DR: The findings show that people who lacked social and community ties were more likely to die in the follow-up period than those with more extensive contacts.
Journal ArticleDOI
UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure
TL;DR: The psychometric properties of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) were evaluated and it was indicated that the measure was highly reliable, both in terms of internal consistency and test-retest reliability over a 1-year period.
Book
Loneliness: the experience of emotional and social isolation
TL;DR: Loneliness: The Experience of Emotional and Social Isolation brings together papers which attempt to capture the phenomena of loneliness with case materials that illuminate the descriptive and theoretical acccounts as discussed by the authors.
Journal ArticleDOI
Loneliness: A Sourcebook of Current Theory, Research and Therapy.
TL;DR: In this article, a wide range of in-depth research into loneliness and its treatment is presented, such as the difference between loneliness and being alone, the various types of loneliness, why people become lonely, and how the lonely can be helped.