Targeting loneliness and social isolation among the elderly: an update systematic review

Abstract

Social isolation and loneliness represent one of the growing public health concerns and it is widely argued that they have detrimental effects on health and well-being of older individuals. Previous studies placed an emphasis on group interventions and highlighted a need for well-designed future interventions. We aimed to perform an update review of the utility of interventions targeted to alleviate loneliness and social isolation among the elderly. The topic identification and the systematic search of MEDLINE, ISI Web of science, SCOPUS, The Cochrane Library, and CINAHL databases derived from a scoping review performed within the work package 5 of the Prohealth65+ project (http:// www.pro-health65plus.eu/). The search terminology combined all possible alternatives of following keywords: social isolation, loneliness, old people, intervention and effectiveness. Only English or Italian language studies published in the last five years that regarded implementation of loneliness/social isolation interventions targeted at the elderly were included. In total, 15 studies were included in the review. Substantial heterogeneity among the interventions was noted. Overall, 8 studies showed significant decrease in loneliness levels and 6 studies reported significant improvements in social health outcomes (social isolation, structural or functional social support). Analysis of mixed-method interventions indicated that community-engaged arts programmes can play a dis- tinctive role in supporting social inclusion for community- dwelling seniors. Group educational interventions that have a focus on social engagement and support appeared effective in reducing lone- liness among the older population. Information technology interventions, as well as physical activity programmes, showed promise. However, a proper evaluation of the efficacy was prevented by flawed study designs and future well-conducted research is needed to support evidence base health promotion. Key messages: Social isolation and loneliness can have a huge impact on health and well-being of the elderly Interventions nourishing social engagement or support within a group format could be beneficia