Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Hwang, Tzung‐Jeng; Rabheru, Kiran; Peisah, Carmelle; Reichman, William E.; Ikeda, Manabu

doi:10.1017/s1041610220000988

Cited by 792 publications

(730 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The Italian government established a nationwide lockdown on March 9th, allowing only essential transfers for grocery, health, or work [3]. Although necessary to counteract the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, the strict self-isolation measurements may disproportionally affect older adults' psychological and social wellbeing [4,5]. Indeed, loneliness feelings and social isolation were already seen as a public health issue for older adults, with deleterious impact on physical, cognitive, and mental health [5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although necessary to counteract the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, the strict self-isolation measurements may disproportionally affect older adults' psychological and social wellbeing [4,5]. Indeed, loneliness feelings and social isolation were already seen as a public health issue for older adults, with deleterious impact on physical, cognitive, and mental health [5][6][7]. Older adults are also less familiar with information and communication technology (ICT) and social networking sites (SNSs) use [8][9][10], which became essential to maintain social contacts during the quarantine.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Older adults have received stricter directives on social distancing, as they were one of the first groups encouraged to stay home worldwide [21]. Several commentaries proposed ICT use improvement in older populations as a potential strategy to counteract social isolation and loneliness during the pandemic [4,5,[20][21][22][23][24]. Keeping connections is listed among the tips for preventing the detrimental effect of loneliness and social isolation [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several commentaries proposed ICT use improvement in older populations as a potential strategy to counteract social isolation and loneliness during the pandemic [4,5,[20][21][22][23][24]. Keeping connections is listed among the tips for preventing the detrimental effect of loneliness and social isolation [5]. The use of digital technologies can bridge social distance, even while physical distancing measures are in place [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Loneliness and Social Engagement in Older Adults Based in Lombardy during the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Long-Term Effects of a Course on Social Networking Sites Use

Rolandi

Vaccaro

Abbondanza

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Older adults are less familiar with communication technology, which became essential to maintain social contacts during the COVID-19 lockdown. The present study aimed at exploring how older adults, previously trained for Social Networking Sites (SNSs) use, experienced the lockdown period. In the first two weeks of May 2020, telephone surveys were conducted with individuals aged 81–85 years and resident in Abbiategrasso (Milan), who previously participated in a study aimed at evaluating the impact of SNSs use on loneliness in old age (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04242628). We collected information on SNSs use, self-perceived loneliness, and social engagement with family and friends. Interviewed participants were stratified as trained (N = 60) and untrained (N = 70) for SNSs use, based on their attendance to group courses held the previous year as part of the main experimental study. The groups were comparable for sociodemographics and clinical features. Participants trained for SNSs use reported significantly higher usage of SNSs and reduced feeling of being left out. Compared to pre-lockdown levels, individuals trained for SNSs use showed a lighter reduction in social contacts. These findings support the utility of training older adults for SNSs use in order to improve their social inclusion, even in extreme conditions of self-isolation and perceived vulnerability.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Loneliness and Social Engagement in Older Adults Based in Lombardy during the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Long-Term Effects of a Course on Social Networking Sites Use

Rolandi

Vaccaro

Abbondanza

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Coronavirus pandemic may exacerbate anxiety and depression symptoms among individuals due to several reasons such as lockdowns ( Meda et al, 2020) and associated isolation (Hwang et al, 2020), fear of worthlessness and fear of infection (Dubey et al, 2020). One of the critical antecedents of such mental health problems might include fear of COVID-19.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of COVID-19 and Mental Health: The Role of Mindfulness in During Time of Crisis

Belen

2020

Preprint

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Abstract The novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is impactful on all aspects of individuals’ lives, particularly mental health due to the fear associated with the pandemic. Thus, current study explored the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and mental health aspects, namely anxiety and depression and whether this relationship is mediated by mindfulness. Data were collected from a student sample of 355 participants (71.5 % female and 28.5% males) ranged between in age 18 and 41 (M= 22.41±3.27) and participants completed Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale and anxiety and depression subscale of SCL-90-R. In terms of the results, correlational analyses indicated that fear of COVID-19 is reversely associated with mindfulness while positive correlations were found with anxiety and depression. Structural equation modeling analyses demonstrated that mindfulness mediated in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and depression and anxiety. Implications are further discussed.

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Comparison of Characteristics of Deaths From Drug Overdose Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Rhode Island

et al. 2021

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Key Points Question Were there changes in the rate and characteristics of deaths from drug overdose before vs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Rhode Island? Findings In this population-based cohort study of 470 adults who died of drug overdose in Rhode Island from January 1 to August 31 in 2019 and 2020, rates of death from overdose among men, deaths involving synthetic opioids, and deaths occurring in personal residences increased significantly in 2020 compared with 2019. Deaths due to overdose also increased among people experiencing job loss and in subgroups with mental health diagnoses. Meaning These findings suggest that policy and service delivery interventions that are responsive to emerging characteristics of deaths from drug overdose are needed to curtail these deaths.

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Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 792 publications

References 13 publications

Loneliness and Social Engagement in Older Adults Based in Lombardy during the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Long-Term Effects of a Course on Social Networking Sites Use

Loneliness and Social Engagement in Older Adults Based in Lombardy during the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Long-Term Effects of a Course on Social Networking Sites Use

Fear of COVID-19 and Mental Health: The Role of Mindfulness in During Time of Crisis

Comparison of Characteristics of Deaths From Drug Overdose Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Rhode Island

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