Ruptures of affiliation: social isolation in assisted living for older people

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 1868-1886 ◽  
Author(s):  
JARI PIRHONEN ◽  
ELISA TIILIKAINEN ◽  
ILKKA PIETILÄ
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Assisted Living ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Social Worlds ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
The One ◽  
Perceived Social Isolation

ABSTRACTTransfer from a private home to an assisted living facility has been pictured as a major change in an older person's life. Older people themselves tend to perceive the change as something eventual that breaks the bonds and familiarities of previous life. The aim of this article is to shed light on residents’ chances to reach affiliation (as Nussbaum defines it) in their new living surroundings, and thus adjust to that social environment. Based on ethnographical data gathered in a Finnish sheltered home in 2013–14, we studied residents’ affiliations through ruptures, namely residents’ perceived social isolation. Social isolation was found to be connected with two separate social worlds: the one inside the facility and the one outside. Social isolation resulted from different factors connected to the quality of social interaction with co-residents and the staff, daily routines of the institution and residents’ personal life histories. Also, residents’ older friends seemed to avoid visiting care facilities which caused perceived social isolation. This article deepens the insights into the perceived social isolation of assisted living and thus helps care providers to create new strategies to enable due affiliation for their residents.

scholarly journals Engaging Mind, Body, and Spirit: Less Isolation Through More Stimulation With YUMMY Time

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 667-667
Author(s):  
Connie Corley ◽  
Spring Groove
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Assisted Living ◽  
Sensory Stimulation ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Performance Arts

Abstract Loneliness and social isolation in community-residing older adults is drawing increasing attention. Yet the needs of nursing home/assisted living residents is critical as well. Engaging professionally-trained musicians who are certified yoga instructors in providing a structured, yet flexible, program offered regularly in such settings is an innovation meriting examining what is observed as a profound experience for both older adults and care providers. Y.U.M.M.Y. Time (through music, meditation and yoga) is a paradigm created by Spring Groove (Gross) offering a unique intersection between the performance arts and the contemplative arts. We are studying the benefits of this approach combining sensory stimulation with inner engagement, with the goal to expand into community settings. As staff members note: “Although the ingredients are simple, the results are profound.” “The program is very enriching, full of great music moments, yoga and meditation to relax our residents. It is very much enjoyed by everyone!”

scholarly journals THE CARING CULTURE FOR OLDER PEOPLE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-84
Author(s):  
Daisy R. Palompon
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Study Participant ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Natural Setting ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Care Culture

A study of the culture and environment of caring among older people care providers including the policies and its interplay in the process of delivering care was conducted to develop an older people care culture theory. This study utilized focused ethnography which involves generating data by observing participants and the structure of an older people health facility in their natural setting. Administrative consent as well as individual participants’ informed consent was acquired prior to the start of the study. Participant observation, dialogue and interview were utilized by the researcher and the research participants. Data analysis was done using the observations and dialogues on the caring governance which were transcribed in the individual journals of the researchers using NVIVO 11.Four major themes were generated: nurturing environment, flourishing milieu, thriving abode and unifying care. The elderly caring structure focused on the growth and empowerment of the older persons despite their limitations. These processes are developed through a nurturing-flourishing-thriving-unifying environment. An eclectic combination and complementary relationship between the physic-social-psychological-spiritual components of the care provider, venue of care and the one cared for provides a focus on the support for the caring culture of older people.

scholarly journals Facilitators and barriers to using telepresence robots in aged care settings: a scoping review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. e051769
Author(s):  
Chelsea Smith ◽  
Mario Gregorio ◽  
Lillian Hung
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Review Team ◽  
Telepresence Robots

IntroductionSocial isolation is a significant issue in aged care settings (eg, long-term care (LTC) and hospital) and is associated with adverse outcomes such as reduced well-being and loneliness. Loneliness is linked with depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, weakened immune system, poor physical health, poor quality of life and mortality. The use of robotic assistance may help mitigate social isolation and loneliness. Although telepresence robots have been used in healthcare settings, a comprehensive review of studies focusing on their use in aged care for reducing social isolation requires further investigation. This scoping review will focus on the use of telepresence robots to support social connection of older people in care settings.Methods and analysisThis scoping review will follow Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology. The review team consists of patient partners and family partners, a nurse researcher and a group of students. In the scoping review, we will search the following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL, PsycINFO (EBSCO), Web of Science and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. Google and Google Scholar will be used to search for additional literature. A handsearch will be conducted using the reference lists of included studies to identify additional relevant articles. The scoping review will consider studies of using a telepresence robotic technology with older adults in care settings (ie, LTC and hospital), published in English.Ethics and disseminationSince the methodology of the study consists of collecting data from publicly available articles, it does not require ethics approval. By examining the current state of using telepresence to support older people in care settings, this scoping review can offer useful insight into users’ needs (eg, patients’ and care providers’ needs) and inform future research and practice. We will share the scoping review results through conference presentations and an open access publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

The Need to Belong and the Relationship Between Loneliness and Health

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 194-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freda-Marie Hartung ◽  
Britta Renner
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Health State ◽  
Need To Belong ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Perceived Social Isolation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Humans are social animals; consequently, a lack of social ties affects individuals’ health negatively. However, the desire to belong differs between individuals, raising the question of whether individual differences in the need to belong moderate the impact of perceived social isolation on health. In the present study, 77 first-year university students rated their loneliness and health every 6 weeks for 18 weeks. Individual differences in the need to belong were found to moderate the relationship between loneliness and current health state. Specifically, lonely students with a high need to belong reported more days of illness than those with a low need to belong. In contrast, the strength of the need to belong had no effect on students who did not feel lonely. Thus, people who have a strong need to belong appear to suffer from loneliness and become ill more often, whereas people with a weak need to belong appear to stand loneliness better and are comparatively healthy. The study implies that social isolation does not impact all individuals identically; instead, the fit between the social situation and an individual’s need appears to be crucial for an individual’s functioning.

scholarly journals Substance Use Among Older People Living With HIV: Challenges for Health Care Providers

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry Deren ◽  
Tara Cortes ◽  
Victoria Vaughan Dickson ◽  
Vincent Guilamo-Ramos ◽  
Benjamin H. Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Living With Hiv

Older people’s news dependency and social connectedness

2021 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2110064
Author(s):  
Caroline Fisher ◽  
Sora Park ◽  
Jee Young Lee ◽  
Kate Holland ◽  
Emma John
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
News Media ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Older Citizens

Social isolation has become a growing issue, particularly among older citizens. The ‘digital divide’ has been identified as one of the contributing factors leaving many older citizens behind. While increasing digital literacy among seniors has been identified as one of the remedies, less attention has been paid to the role of news media on the wellbeing and connectedness of older people. Through the lens of the uses and gratifications theory, this article reports on the findings of a survey of 562 news consumers aged 50 years and above who live in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The analysis highlights the important role of news in reducing feelings of social isolation, particularly for those who spend more time alone and older people with cognitive impairment. Older participants who had difficulty concentrating and learning new tasks were also more dependent on news. We suggest this is due to the habitual, predictable and concise nature of news. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of news in the wellbeing of older people and point to the need for policymakers and those in the aged care sector to ensure access to news for older citizens to improve the quality of life.

Patient Flow or the Patient’s Journey? Exploring Health Care Providers’ Experiences and Understandings of Implementing a Care Pathway to Improve the Quality of Transitional Care for Older People

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110038
Author(s):  
Cecilie Fromholt Olsen ◽  
Astrid Bergland ◽  
Jonas Debesay ◽  
Asta Bye ◽  
Anne Gudrun Langaas
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Transitional Care ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
Patient Flow ◽  
Care Pathways ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Care For Older People

Internationally, the implementation of care pathways is a common strategy for making transitional care for older people more effective and patient-centered. Previous research highlights inherent tensions in care pathways, particularly in relation to their patient-centered aspects, which may cause dilemmas for health care providers. Health care providers’ understandings and experiences of this, however, remain unclear. Our aim was to explore health care providers’ experiences and understandings of implementing a care pathway to improve transitional care for older people. We conducted semistructured interviews with 20 health care providers and three key persons, along with participant observations of 22 meetings, in a Norwegian quality improvement collaborative. Through a thematic analysis, we identified an understanding of the care pathway as both patient flow and the patient’s journey and a dilemma between the two, and we discuss how the negotiation of conflicting institutional logics is a central part of care pathway implementation.

The ‘loneliness pandemic’: implications for gerontological nursing

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 652-655
Author(s):  
Carlos Laranjeira
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Gerontological Nursing

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled states to limit free movement, in order to protect at-risk and more vulnerable groups, particularly older adults. Due to old age or debilitating chronic diseases, this group is also more vulnerable to loneliness (perceived discrepancy between actual and desired social relationships) and social isolation (feeling that one does not belong to society). This forced isolation has negative consequences for the health of older people, particularly their mental health. This is an especially challenging time for gerontological nursing, but it is also an opportunity for professionals to combat age stereotypes reinforced with COVID-19, to urge the measurement of loneliness and social isolation, and to rethink how to further adjust interventions in times of crisis, such as considering technology-mediated interventions in these uncertain times.

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