Reducing social isolation and loneliness in older people: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

IntroductionSocial isolation and loneliness affect approximately one-third to one-half of the elderly population and have a negative impact on their physical and mental health. Group-based interventions where facilitators are well trained and where the elderly are actively engaged in their development seem to be more effective, but conclusions have been limited by weak study designs. We aim to conduct a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of health promotion interventions on social isolation or loneliness in older people.Methods and analysisA systematic review was conducted in Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, LILACS, OpenGrey and the Cochrane Library on peer-reviewed studies and doctoral theses published between 1995 and 2016 evaluating the impact of health promotion interventions on social isolation and/or loneliness for individuals aged 60 and over. Two reviewers will independently assess each study for inclusion and disagreements will be resolved by a third reviewer. Data will be extracted using a predefined pro forma following best practice. Study quality will be assessed with the Effective Public Health Practice Project quality assessment tool. A narrative synthesis of all studies will be presented by type of outcome (social isolation or loneliness) and type of intervention. If feasible, the effectiveness data will be synthesised using appropriate statistical techniques.Ethics and disseminationThis systematic review is exempt from ethics approval because the work is carried out on published documents. The findings of the review will be disseminated in a related peer-reviewed journal and presented at conferences. They will also contribute to a DPhil thesis.Trial registration numberCRD42016039650

Does Social Isolation Affect Medical Doctor Visits? New Evidence Among European Older Adults

“…Indeed, our main findings could be grouped as follows: (i) among sociodemographic factors it is obtained than respondent being female, the higher the age and the lesser the educational level would be associated with higher GP visits; (ii) health factors implies than those that reported more health need would use more often health care services; (iii) in spite the fact different socio-demographic and health variables would matter on medical doctor visits, it should be clear up that elderly Europeans with less social isolation would decrease the expected number of visits per year (Peytremann-Bridevaux et al, 2008;Ladin, 2012;Gerst-Emerson and Jayawardhana, 2015 (Banbury et al, 2017;Landeiro et al, 2017) have pointed out the importance of both group-based interventions and one-to-one interventions (e.g. educational courses on social behaviours, volunteer programs, and/ or providing services like transportation or internet use).…”

Lonely places or lonely people? Investigating the relationship between loneliness and place of residence

“…Loneliness is considered a public health issue because of the association with a range of negative outcomes including decreased well-being and quality of life [6], increased risk of deteriorating physical [7,8] and mental health [9,10], and increased mortality [11,12] alongside unhealthy behaviours [13,14,15] and health and social care services utilization [16]. Loneliness has attracted the attention of policy makers and service providers leading to extensive investment into loneliness interventions although evidence of effectiveness remains limited [19][20][21][22].…”

Loneliness and Social Isolation in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Gerontological Social Work

“…As we have helped them to transition into the world created by the COVID-19 crisis, we can be there to help them transition into the post-COVID-19 world. We must be cognizant of the fact that each person experiences loneliness and social isolation in their own unique way and our responses must be tailored to meet those individual needs that is grounded in evidence-based practice (20)(21).…”