Targeted and holistic health and wellbeing interventions are critical to addressing loneliness in retirement villages, researchers from Bolton Clarke Research Institute and Monash University have found.
The research, published in BMC Geriatrics, is based on survey responses from 1178 residents across 24 retirement villages as part of Bolton Clarke's Health and Wellbeing in Retirement Living program.
The study found almost one fifth of respondents were lonely, with associated factors being low mood, living alone, cognitive function, pain and recent falls or hospital admission. Of almost 60 per cent of respondents who lived alone, researchers said one quarter reported experiencing loneliness,
Positively, residents who had lived in a village for one or more years were only half as likely to be lonely as those who had recently entered the village.
People experiencing pain were twice as likely to be lonely, with residents who had experienced one or more falls in the past 12 months also at increased risk. More than half of people experiencing loneliness also reported memory problems or a diagnosis associated with memory, such as dementia.
First author Georgina Johnstone from the Bolton Clarke Research Institute said, "One of the key reasons people choose to move to retirement communities is the desire for increased social connection and the mitigation of loneliness."
"But relocation can disrupt existing social relationships, so support networks need to be rebuilt.
"This research suggests understanding the reasons behind residents' transitions to retirement living and investing in targeted orientation and support in the first year of occupancy could make a real difference for wellbeing."
Ms Johnstone said people who were frail or in poor health could also find it more difficult to build social connections.
Supporting residents' physical health through group-based initiatives like falls prevention and cognitive health programs could be one way to improve meaningful engagement, reduce loneliness and improve health outcomes.
Developing villages as community hubs that promote connections both within and outside the village community, designing spaces that create opportunities for individuals and groups to interact and considering social prescribing models where people are assisted to connect to non-clinical services were other potential ways to improve outcomes.
"Targeted, holistic interventions are critical, particularly as the emphasis grows on retirement living communities to support positive ageing with home-based supportive care through both formal and informal services," Ms Johnstone said.
Co-author Adjunct Professor Judy Lowthian from Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine said, "Loneliness is a growing public health priority world-wide, with negative impacts on physical health and wellbeing. Prevalence varies, influenced by measurement tools and geographical location, but loneliness affects up to one in four older Australians."
"Awareness and understanding the risk factors enables us to codesign and implement targeted programs to support social connection, thereby optimising health and wellbeing in a holistic way."
Read the paper here.
