Structured Opportunities for Connection to Improve Aging-related Loneliness
Endeavor Health
Summary
The goal of this early phase clinical trial is to determine the impact of participation in planned social activities among adults 55 years of age or older, who report feelings of loneliness. The main questions the study aims to answer are: * With the availability of a personalized community activity plan, will patients with loneliness participate in two hours of social activity each week? * Will 2 hours/week of planned social activities in the community reduce individual reports of loneliness? Participants will meet with a community coordinator to identify community activities of interest to them and then participate, in-person or virtually, in these activities over a 6 month period. Patients will complete a series of surveys at the start of the study and then at 1, 3 and 6 months later.
Description
Background It has been suggested that humans have a basic need to belong.1 Social relationships are fundamental to emotional fulfillment, behavioral adjustment and cognitive function. While social integration is critical to human development across the life span, it is particularly important in later life, a time when social relationships often decrease.2 In recent decades, changes and fragmentation in family structure have increased the number of persons living alone, albeit well recognized that 'being alone' is not synonymous with loneliness.3 Loneliness is defined as a subjective, unwelcome…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 55+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients 55 years of age or older attending an outpatient visit at an Endeavor Health primary care practice site in Evanston, IL.; * Screened positive for loneliness (often, some of the time, or occasionally) using the one-item Loneliness Screener; * Able to provide informed consent for study participation; * Speaks and understands English language. Exclusion Criteria: * Prisoners, pregnant women, children and those who are determined to be unable to provide consent will be excluded. Non-English speakers will also be excluded for this specific pilot study since group s…
Interventions
- BehavioralPrescribing of community activities; at least 2 hours per week
Personalized Social Prescriptions will be determined from a broad menu of activities available in the community that are in-person or virtual and offered on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis, or as a one-time event. All activities will be 'group-oriented' to enable a sense of human connection and social interaction; participation may be in the form of either conversational expression or quiet listening amidst a group. Emphasis will be placed on in-person, weekly activity offerings in order to optimize socialization and support development of social connections and friendships. Virtual options, however, will provide opportunities for social interactions for those with transportation, mobility or social anxiety challenges.
Location
- Research InstituteEvanston, Illinois