SOCIAL ISOLATION AND LONELINESS AMONG THE ELDERLY

Authors : Goran Stojanović

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• Manuscript keywords: loneliness, social isolation, elderly

Abstract

Old age is a physiological process that leads to numerous changes in the body and mental and social functioning. Social isolation and loneliness (SI&L), which represent both objective and subjective experiences of social disconnection, have emerged as two key constructs that affect people's health and are particularly relevant to the physical and mental health and longevity of the elderly. The aim of this review is to assess the frequency of SI&L among the elderly, factors related to SI&L, as well as their impact on the quality of life and health of the elderly and the role of nurses/technicians in their healthcare. We performed a search of PubMed database using keywords “loneliness”, “social isolation” and “elderly”. The prevalence of SI&L among the elderly is from 10% to 28%. Significant factors related to SI&L are female gender, unmarried status, older age, poor income, lower level of education, living alone, low quality of social relationships, poor self-assessment of health and poor functional status. Increased frequencies of dementia, depression, coronary heart disease and stroke have been found among old people with SI&L Health education interventions carried out by nurses/technicians should promote the social inclusion of the elderly.