Loneliness and social support of older people living alone in a county of Shanghai, China

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Chen ◽  
Allan Hicks ◽  
Alison E. While
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older People ◽  
Living Alone

scholarly journals The association between frailty and satisfaction with social contacts in the general older population

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Nguyen ◽  
E Braekman ◽  
S Demarest ◽  
J Van der Heyden
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older People ◽  
Clinical Syndrome ◽  
Household Composition ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Older Population ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
Frailty Status ◽  
Social Component ◽  
The Social

Abstract Background As a result of the demographic evolution, the proportion of older people will continue to increase in the coming decades. Frailty among elderly is one of the important challenges that Europe is facing. From a biomedical, perspective frailty is considered as a clinical syndrome that increases vulnerability. However, the role of social contacts in relation to frailty needs to be investigated. In this study, we assessed the association between frailty and perceived satisfaction with social contacts in a sample of the general older population. Methods This study was conducted on a representative sample of 2364, both institutionalized and non-institutionalized older participants (≥65 years) from the Belgian Health Interview Survey 2018. Frailty was assessed with the instrument used in the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) including dimensions of the Fried phenotype: exhaustion, weight loss, muscle strength, weakness and physical activity. The Oslo-3 Social Support Scale (OSS-3) was used to assess perceived quality of social support. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between frailty status and satisfaction with social contacts while controlling for age, gender, region, educational attainment and household composition. Results The prevalence of frailty was 22.8% (95%CI:21.2-24.6). The results showed that elderly who are unsatisfied with their social contacts are more likely to be frail (OR(95%CI):4.65 (2.82-7.66)). In addition, being older ≥75 years (OR(95%CI):2.40 (1.68-3.43)), being female (OR(95%CI):2.48 (1.73-3.56)), having a lower education (OR(95%CI):2.57 (1.71-3.87)), living alone (OR(95%CI):1.58 (1.10-2.27)) were associated with frailty. Conclusions Frailty is associated with living alone and being unsatisfied with the social contacts, among older people in Belgium. These findings confirm that the social component should be taken into account in strategies to reduce frailty in the general older population. Key messages Frailty is associated with living alone and being unsatisfied with the social contacts, among older people in Belgium. The social component should be taken into account in strategies to reduce frailty in the general older population.

Social support and care arrangements of older people living alone in rural Malaysia

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 2061-2081 ◽  
Author(s):  
NATALIE EVANS ◽  
PASCALE ALLOTEY ◽  
JOANNA D. IMELDA ◽  
DANIEL D. REIDPATH ◽  
ROBERT POOL
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Care Needs

ABSTRACTMalaysia has an ageing population and an increasing number of older people who live alone. This study explores the social support and care arrangements of older people living alone in rural Malaysia. The study took a qualitative approach: semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of Malay (N = 20) and Chinese (N = 20) Malaysians aged over 65. Five cross-cutting themes were identified through a thematic analysis: degrees of aloneness; relationships and social support; barriers to social support; and future illness, care and death. All participants said they lived alone; living arrangements, however, were often complex. For Malays, most support came from nearby adult children and relatives, whereas Chinese participants, who less frequently had adult children living locally, emphasised support from friends and neighbours. Emigrant adult children's assistance was mostly informational and financial, instrumental assistance was either substituted for money, or provided solely during periods of ill-health. Physical decline, limited telephone use, inadequate transportation and fears of crime were barriers to social support. Participants avoided thinking or talking about future care needs. These findings have implications for Malaysian old age policy, which is currently focused on supporting families to care for older relatives. Child migration and a growing preference for a period of independent living in old age may require policies and resources directed at older people as individuals to support their own efforts to remain independent, active and age ‘in place’.

scholarly journals Effect of the Information Support Robot on the Daily Activity of Older People Living Alone in Actual Living Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2498
Author(s):  
Jumpei Mizuno ◽  
Daisuke Saito ◽  
Ken Sadohara ◽  
Misato Nihei ◽  
Shinichi Ohnaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Older People ◽  
Daily Activity ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Information Support ◽  
Sleep Patterns ◽  
High Cognitive Function ◽  
Environment Study ◽  
The Impact

Information support robots (ISRs) have the potential to assist older people living alone to have an independent life. However, the effects of ISRs on the daily activity, especially the sleep patterns, of older people have not been clarified; moreover, it is unclear whether the effects of ISRs depend on the levels of cognitive function. To investigate these effects, we introduced an ISR into the actual living environment and then quantified induced changes according to the levels of cognitive function. Older people who maintained their cognitive function demonstrated the following behavioral changes after using the ISR: faster wake-up times, reduced sleep duration, and increased amount of activity in the daytime (p < 0.05, r = 0.77; p < 0.05, r = 0.89, and p < 0.1, r = 0.70, respectively). The results suggest that the ISR is beneficial in supporting the independence of older people living alone since living alone is associated with disturbed sleep patterns and low physical activity. The impact of the ISR on daily activity was more remarkable in the subjects with high cognitive function than in those with low cognitive function. These findings suggest that cognitive function is useful information in the ISR adaptation process. The present study has more solid external validity than that of a controlled environment study since it was done in a personal residential space.

Abstract P70: Social Network Characteristics Are Associated With Long Term Outcomes After Myocardial Infarction

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward P Havranek ◽  
Kensey L Gosch ◽  
Donna M Buchanan ◽  
Kim G Smolderen ◽  
John A Spertus
Keyword(s):  
Myocardial Infarction ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Nuclear Family ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Vas Score ◽  
Area Code

Background: Lack of social support is associated with worse outcomes after myocardial infarction (MI). Social support is a complex concept that includes the quality of perceived support and the size and quality of one's social network. It is not known if having a geographically close social network affects outcomes post-MI. We hypothesized that patients with a greater number of close network contacts would have better post-MI outcomes. Methods: From contacts listed by subjects in TRIUMPH, a prospective registry of MI patients from 24 US centers, we characterized social network size (number of contacts listed) and closeness (number of nuclear family contacts and number of contacts residing in the same area code). We assessed univariate relationships between these indices and outcomes (mortality and health status by the EQ-5D Visual Analogue Scale [VAS], an overall assessment of patients' quality of life), and scores from the ENRICHD Social Support Instrument (ESSI). We created multivariable Cox proportional hazards and linear regression models with mortality and VAS as dependent variables and with demographic, clinical, treatment and social support measures as independent variables. Results: Of 4340 subjects enrolled, 472 died over a median of 28.6 months. Mean 12-month VAS score was 75.4 ± 21.1. Having no same area code contacts (19.3% vs. 15.9%) (p=0.025 for trend), no nuclear family contacts (40.9% vs. 33.8%) (p=0.010 for trend), and living alone (33.0% vs. 23.6%, p<0.001) were associated with higher mortality on univariate analysis; total number of contacts and ESSI tertile were not. Univariate relationships with VAS were similar. In a multivariable model, age, prior stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, ejection fraction <40%, and living alone were significantly associated with mortality. In the multivariable VAS model, fewer area code contacts was additionally significant (p=0.023 for trend across number of contacts). Subjects with no area code contacts had a VAS score 3.2 ± 2.0 points lower than those with 4 near contacts. Conclusions: Geographic closeness of patients' social networks is weakly associated with outcomes after MI. Further investigation is warranted before proposing interventions designed to compensate for low network-based support.

scholarly journals Loneliness, hopelessness and suicide in later life: a case–control psychological autopsy study in rural China

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Niu ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Zhenyu Ma ◽  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Bin Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Tree Model ◽  
Elderly Suicide

Abstract Aims Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a serious public health issue worldwide. However, there is scarce research addressing the association between loneliness and suicide in older adults in rural China. We set out to examine loneliness and other psychosocial factors in elderly suicide cases and explore their interaction effects. Methods Using a 1 : 1 matched case–control design, data were collected from 242 elderly suicide cases and 242 living community controls by psychological autopsy method in rural China, including demographic characteristics, loneliness, depression, hopelessness and social support. The chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) tree model and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to explore the relationships of these factors and suicide. Results The CHAID tree model showed that loneliness, hopelessness and depressive symptoms were closely associated with completed suicide and that loneliness and hopelessness interacted with each other. The result of multivariable logistic regression showed that individuals who were unemployed [odds ratio (OR) = 2.344; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.233–4.457], living alone (OR = 2.176; 95% CI: 1.113–4.254), had lower levels of subjective social support (OR = 2.185; 95% CI: 1.243–3.843), experienced depressive symptoms (OR = 6.700; 95% CI: 3.405–13.182), showed higher levels of hopelessness (OR = 7.253; 95% CI: 3.764–13.974) and felt higher levels of hopelessness × higher levels of loneliness (OR = 2.446; 95% CI: 1.089–5.492) were significantly associated with an elevated suicide risk in older people in rural China. Conclusions Regular evaluation of loneliness, hopelessness and depression can help detect older adults who are at risk of committing suicide. Interventions should target social support systems, particularly among people living alone, to alleviate feelings of loneliness and hopelessness. Treating depression is also key to preventing suicide among elderly people in rural China.

Aging Alone, Gossiping Together: Older Adults’ Talk as Social Glue

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 1474-1482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy Torres
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
New York ◽  
Older People ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Emotional Intimacy ◽  
Public Places ◽  
The Social ◽  
Formal Organizations ◽  
Negative Reputation

AbstractObjectivesWhile older adults living alone face challenges to maintaining social ties, elders in urban areas also have unique opportunities for daily socializing that can buffer against loneliness.MethodDrawing on 5 years of ethnographic fieldwork among elders in New York City, this study presents empirical insights into the development of supplementary neighborhood-based networks of support for older people living alone and vulnerable to isolation.ResultsThis study finds that elders who lived alone, without close kin, engaged in daily gossip about other older people they encountered as regulars in local eateries. Despite its negative reputation, gossip helped them connect and access less conventional social support close to home. The majority resisted formal organizations, such as churches or senior centers, and thus their interactions in public venues served as an important source of social involvement. In line with Gluckman’s argument (1963), gossip betrayed emotional intimacy and caretaking that connected people who could have fallen off the social radar.DiscussionHigher rates of divorce and lifelong singlehood, coupled with increased longevity, will compel greater numbers of older adults to construct alternative support networks. My findings suggest that more will draw these connections from unconventional venues such as neighborhood public places.

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