Older Adults’ Experiences in a Web-Based Intervention for Loneliness
Date
2023-03-22
Authors
Hudson, Janella
Zarling, Amie
Ungar, Rachel
Albright, Laurie
Tkatch, Rifky
Schaeffer, James
Wicker, Ellen R
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Sage Journals
Abstract
Background: Older adults may be vulnerable to loneliness due to natural and age-related transitions. Lonely older adults are at an increased risk of adverse health outcomes due to their loneliness, including cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of vulnerable older adults in a web-based loneliness intervention. Methods: Older adult participants in a web-based loneliness intervention (n = 24) participated in semi-structured interviews eliciting feedback about their experience in the program and perceived outcomes. Participants’ responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Participants reported fewer negative perceptions of their social skills and future social interactions, gaining new social skills, improved relationships, and increased confidence to initiate and maintain social contact. Conclusions: Findings suggest the efficacy of combining a web-based loneliness intervention with cognitive behavioral therapy, and provide implications for future web-based interventions for older adult populations.
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article
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This article is published as Hudson J, Zarling A, Ungar R, et al. Older Adults’ Experiences in a Web-Based Intervention for Loneliness. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. 2023;9. doi:10.1177/23337214231163004. Posted with permission.
© The Author(s) 2023. Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 4.0) This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
© The Author(s) 2023. Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 4.0) This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).