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Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic government regulations and mandates have caused feelings of overload, isolation, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. This project aimed to evaluate the level of impact of social distancing and homestay mandates on seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The knowledge from the data guided the implementation of Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a focused intervention to address loneliness, social
isolation, and depression among seniors.
Methods: Quantitative reviews were employed to assess the impact of ICT on lonely seniors. A convenience sample of 5 seniors aged 65 and up from a local church congregating in worship center located in southwestern United States enrolled in this voluntary pre-and post-educational intervention project. Participants were informed of the confidentiality of the study and that the study had no known risks on participants. The participants willingly signed a consent for the
study. The attendees received two one-hour education sessions on how to use WhatsApp and Zoom as communication strategies. The pre-and post-loneliness scale scores were collected using the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale as a tool. Results were compared before and after the educational intervention using a paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
Results: The results indicate significant reductions in reported loneliness from pre to post intervention (z = -2.02, p = 0.043). These results indicate that using ICT can help address loneliness in the seniors.
Conclusion: Implementing communication strategies such as WhatsApp and Zoom effectively addresses social isolation and loneliness in seniors. The data reveals that integrating electronic communication in the life of the seniors can manage the social isolation problem. Future nursing practices may benefit from the project's data to address loneliness in the seniors.
ContributorsTambala, Sandikonda (Author) / Guthrey, Ann (Thesis advisor) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor)
Created2022-05-02
Description
Loneliness and depression in older adults are under-recognized public health concerns that increase risks for all-cause mortality, medical morbidity, and rising healthcare costs. This quality improvement project assessed whether smartphone Mindfulness software mitigated self-reported feelings of loneliness and depression among community-dwelling older adults. Nine participants aged 65 and older, living at home, experiencing loneliness or depression, and owning a smartphone were recruited using newsletters and fliers. A short demographics questionnaire and two valid and reliable instruments, namely the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA V3) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), were used in pre-intervention and four weeks post-intervention. Participants downloaded the UCLA Mindful app on their smartphones after attending a 20-minute Mindfulness education at a local church banquet room. Participants used the UCLA Mindful software twice weekly for ten minutes for four weeks. Of the nine participants, three completed the study. A two-tailed paired sample t-test and descriptive analysis were used to evaluate the efficacy of the UCLA Mindful smartphone software. The results of the two-tailed paired sample t-test were not statistically significant for the UCLA V3 Loneliness scale (p=.220) and GDS (p=.208) due to the small sample size. Although the results were negligible, participants nevertheless reported favorable impacts. Future research with a larger sample size is encouraged.
ContributorsMurdock, J. Kristine (Author) / Guthery, Ann (Thesis advisor) / College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor)
Created2023-04-26