Social environment support to overcome loneliness among older adults: A scoping review.
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ABSTRACT: Background
Loneliness is a problem experienced by most older adults due to internal and external factors. This condition may lead to various physical and psychological health problems, including depression, sleep disturbances, stress, and suicidal ideation. Therefore, exploring social environment support to reduce loneliness is a necessity.Objective
This study aimed to identify various kinds of social support to overcome loneliness in older adults.Methods
A scoping review was performed on studies retrieved from Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, PubMed, and Google Scholar from 2012 until early 2022. Data were analyzed according to Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review guideline.Results
Ten studies were systematically selected from 2,410 articles. The analysis indicated that the social environment support, including family support (affection, attention, emotional, motivation, and financial support), friends (peer group, partnership, advice, and appreciation), neighbors (work around the house, society involvement, and emergency), and government support (healthcare facilities and community programs), contribute to loneliness in older adults.Conclusion
The social environment support from families, friends, neighbors, and government may potentially help older adults to reduce their loneliness but need further validation. The variables included in each component also need construct exploration. However, the study findings may serve as basic knowledge for nurses to provide interventions to prevent and reduce loneliness among older adults.
SUBMITTER: Resna RW
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10401387 | biostudies-literature | 2022
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Social environment support to overcome loneliness among older adults: A scoping review.
Resna Riksa Wibawa RW Widianti Nofiantoro Wahyu W Iskandar Rachmayanti R Ashbahna Dwi Meilina DM Royani Susilawati Susi S
Belitung nursing journal 20220628 3
<h4>Background</h4>Loneliness is a problem experienced by most older adults due to internal and external factors. This condition may lead to various physical and psychological health problems, including depression, sleep disturbances, stress, and suicidal ideation. Therefore, exploring social environment support to reduce loneliness is a necessity.<h4>Objective</h4>This study aimed to identify various kinds of social support to overcome loneliness in older adults.<h4>Methods</h4>A scoping review ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundRecognizing the escalating public health concerns of loneliness and social isolation in aging populations, this study seeks to comprehensively explore the potential of information and communication technology (ICT)-based interventions to address these issues among older adults. This scoping review of reviews aims to map and synthesize existing evidence on the effectiveness and scope of ICT interventions targeting loneliness and social isolation in community-dwelling older adults, elucidating types of technology, impacts, facilitators, barriers, and research gaps.MethodsFollowing the Joanna Briggs Institute framework, we systematically searched eight diverse databases identifying relevant published reviews. We included English-written, peer-reviewed reviews of all types, with no limits regarding time of publication about ICTs targeting loneliness and/or social isolation for community-dwelling older adults. Eligible reviews were analysed and summarized, offering a holistic narrative of the reported types of ICTs and their impact, the identified facilitators and barriers influencing the implementation and adoption of ICT interventions, and the research gaps identified in the literature.ResultsThe review included 39 publications published between 2012 and 2024, spanning systematic, scoping, and reviews of reviews. Various ICTs were reported, primarily social media virtual communities, followed by video-mediated friendly visits, conversational agents, social robots, exergames and online gameplay. Predominantly positive impacts on mitigating social isolation and loneliness were evident for these ICTs, although methodological diversity and contradictory findings complicated definite conclusions. Facilitators and barriers encompassed individual competencies, access and usage, and intervention design and implementation. Research gaps involved targeting specific subgroups, exploring innovative technologies, incorporating diverse study designs, improving research methodologies, and addressing usability and accessibility. Future research should focus on identifying elderly individuals who can benefit the most from ICT use, exploring novel technologies, using a wider range of study designs, and enhancing usability and accessibility considerations.ConclusionsThis review sheds light on the diverse range of ICTs, their impact, and the facilitators and barriers associated with their use. Future investigations should prioritize refining outcome measures, addressing gender differences, and enhancing the usability and accessibility of interventions. The involvement of older adults in the design process and the exploration of technological training interventions hold promise in overcoming barriers.
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