Effectiveness of a community intervention to reduce social isolation among older people in low-income neighbourhoods
Lapena, Carolina (Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol)
Continente, Xavier (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)
Sánchez Mascuñano, A. (Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge)
Marí-Dell'Olmo, Marc 1978- (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)
López Medina, María José (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	Background: Social and demographic trends show a global increase of proportion of older people at risk of social isolation. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention conducted in low-income neighbourhoods to reduce social isolation and its negative effects on health in older persons. Methods: A quasi-experimental study with a comparison group was performed. The 'School of Health for Older People' is a weekly community intervention that promotes resources among individuals and communities to enhance their ability to identify problems and activate solutions, encouraging community participation. Data were collected at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Social support, psychological morbidity and health-related quality of life were measured through questionnaires information on visits to the primary care centre was obtained from the electronic medical records of primary care centres. Multivariate regression models were conducted to assess changes after the intervention. Results: A total of 135 participants were included in the study. The intervention helped to improve participants' mental health (aPR = 0. 46; 95% CI: 0. 23-0. 90) comparing with the comparison group. Also, the intervention helped to maintain quality of life and social support, which were worsened or maintained respectively in the case of comparison group. Conclusions: Our results provide evidence on how a community intervention can improve quality of life, mental health and social support in older people. The evidence can help to fill the knowledge gap in this area and might be especially useful for the design of social and public health policies and programmes for older people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in urban areas. Trial registration: NCT03142048.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Humans ; Poverty ; Quality of Life ; Social Isolation ; Social Support ; Surveys and Questionnaires
Published in:	European journal of public health, Vol. 32 Núm. 5 (january 2022) , p. 677-683, ISSN 1464-360X

DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckac100
PMID: 36074028

7 p, 211.8 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Recerca Sant Pau
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles