Deliver social isolation and loneliness interventions for older people as group activities with educational or support input, targeted at specific groups¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (2 for, 2 mixed) · 1 study (1 review), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The review's synthesis supports delivering interventions as group activities that include an educational or support input and that "target specific groups" of older people, rather than generic one-to-one support, advice and information, or health-needs assessment. Nine of the ten effective interventions in the review were group activities with an educational or support input, making targeted group formats the approach the evidence favours.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Group activity format with an educational or support input
• Targeting of specific groups of older people

Constraints¶

• Evidence base limited to quantitative outcome studies from 1970 to 2002, mostly conducted in the USA and Canada, with design, methods, quality and transferability varying considerably

Target Learners¶

• older people at risk of social isolation or loneliness

Target Learning Goals¶

• alleviating social isolation and loneliness

Claims¶

• Educational and social activity group interventions targeting specific groups can alleviate social isolation and loneliness among older people [+W]
• One-to-one social support, advice and information, or health-needs assessment interventions were largely ineffective at reducing social isolation and loneliness among older people [+W]
• The effectiveness of home visiting and befriending schemes for social isolation and loneliness among older people remains unclear [~W]
• Included intervention studies varied considerably in design, methods, quality and transferability [~W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• MIMA CATTAN, MARTIN WHITE, JOHN BOND and ALISON LEARMOUTH. (2005). Preventing social isolation and loneliness among older people: a systematic review of health promotion interventions. Ageing & Society, Volume 25, Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X04002594