The Effect of Information Communication Technology Interventions on Reducing Social Isolation in the Elderly: A Systematic Review

Abstract

BackgroundThe aging of the population is an inexorable change that challenges governments and societies in every developed country. Based on clinical and empirical data, social isolation is found to be prevalent among elderly people, and it has negative consequences on the elderly’s psychological and physical health. Targeting social isolation has become a focus area for policy and practice. Evidence indicates that contemporary information and communication technologies (ICT) have the potential to prevent or reduce the social isolation of elderly people via various mechanisms.ObjectiveThis systematic review explored the effects of ICT interventions on reducing social isolation of the elderly.MethodsRelevant electronic databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE, EBSCO, SSCI, Communication Studies: a SAGE Full-Text Collection, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Digital Library, and IEEE Xplore) were systematically searched using a unified strategy to identify quantitative and qualitative studies on the effectiveness of ICT-mediated social isolation interventions for elderly people published in English between 2002 and 2015. Narrative synthesis was performed to interpret the results of the identified studies, and their quality was also appraised.ResultsTwenty-five publications were included in the review. Four of them were evaluated as rigorous research. Most studies measured the effectiveness of ICT by measuring specific dimensions rather than social isolation in general. ICT use was consistently found to affect social support, social connectedness, and social isolation in general positively. The results for loneliness were inconclusive. Even though most were positive, some studies found a nonsignificant or negative impact. More importantly, the positive effect of ICT use on social connectedness and social support seemed to be short-term and did not last for more than six months after the intervention. The results for self-esteem and control over one’s life were consistent but generally nonsignificant. ICT was found to alleviate the elderly’s social isolation through four mechanisms: connecting to the outside world, gaining social support, engaging in activities of interests, and boosting self-confidence.ConclusionsMore well-designed studies that contain a minimum risk of research bias are needed to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of ICT interventions for elderly people in reducing their perceived social isolation as a multidimensional concept. The results of this review suggest that ICT could be an effective tool to tackle social isolation among the elderly. However, it is not suitable for every senior alike. Future research should identify who among elderly people can most benefit from ICT use in reducing social isolation. Research on other types of ICT (eg, mobile phone–based instant messaging apps) should be conducted to promote understanding and practice of ICT-based social-isolation interventions for elderly people.

A Systematic Review of Literature Reporting on Studies Analysing Technologies for Ageing in Place to Support Community-Dwelling Older Adults

“…The results show that technological solutions can facilitate several mechanisms, including connecting to the outside world (e.g. family members, especially grandchildren, friends, former colleagues or new contacts of shared interests) and, mostly important, boosts self-confidence and empowerment, which trigger positive feelings of the participants and their control over life and/or life satisfaction (Chen and Schulz, 2016).…”

“…• General-purpose information technologies, including mobile communications (Fry and Neff, 2009;Bolle et al, 2015;Blackman et al 2013;Geraedts et al, 2013;Buchholz, Wilbur, Ingram and Fogg, 2013;Foster et al, 2013;Buhi et al 2013;Chen and Schulz, 2016), messaging (e.g. mail or chat) (Foster et al, 2013), (Kennedy et al, 2012;Hawley-Hague et al, 2014).…”

“…One of the included reviews (Chen and Schulz, 2016) analysed twenty-five primary studies related to the use of technological solutions to surpass social isolation. The intervention in all but two primary studies was implemented in the regular living environments of the participants.…”

“…A minority of the studies was related to telephone befriending intervention, videogames and the use of a visual pet companion application that allowed the older adults to interact with an avatar in real time (Chen and Schulz, 2016).…”

“…On the other hand, positive effect on social connectedness and social support seemed to be short-term and did not last for more than six months after the intervention, and the results related to loneliness were inconclusive. The generalizability of the results is limited since most primary studies tested the interventions as a one-time trial among a small number of participants (Chen and Schulz, 2016). Therefore, although the potential impact of technologies for ageing in place might have in the promotion of social contacts, the included review (Chen and Schulz, 2016) suggest more well-designed studies on the effect the interventions and the identification of how the training and implementation of such intervention should be tailored to maximize its effect.…”