Sheridan College Sheridan College
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What are the Risk Factors of Social Isolation
and Loneliness Professional Development and Training
Resources
2019
What are the Risk Factors of Social Isolation and Loneliness What are the Risk Factors of Social Isolation and Loneliness
Sheridan Centre for Elder Research
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centres_elder_building_connected_communities_resources_risk-factors
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Sheridan Centre for Elder Research, "What are the Risk Factors of Social Isolation and Loneliness" (2019).
What are the Risk Factors of Social Isolation and Loneliness. 1.
https://source.sheridancollege.ca/centres_elder_building_connected_communities_resources_risk- factors/1
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What are the Risk Factors of Social Isolation and Loneliness?
Developed by: Sheridan Centre for Elder Research, Oakville ON, Canada – 2019
To access the Social Isolation and Loneliness Toolkit visit:
https://source.sheridancollege.ca/centres_elder_building_connected_communities/
Building Connected Communities: Social Isolation and Loneliness Toolkit
• To understand the categories of and types of risk factors related to social isolation and loneliness
• To consider immigration as a life transition and learn about how/why it is a risk factor for social isolation/loneliness
• To reflect on which risk factors might impact our
members/clients and consider ways to reach out/support them better
Learning Objectives
• Risk factors are personal, situational or environmental factors that increase the likelihood that an individual will experience social isolation or loneliness
• Generally, the more risk factors an individual faces, the higher their likelihood of experiencing social isolation or loneliness
• For example: RISE Spectrum from HelpAge Canada
Risk factors
http://rise-cisa.ca/resources/spectrum/
The research suggests that various social, personal and economic factors can put older adults at greater risk of social isolation/loneliness
(The National Seniors Council, 2015-2016)
Socio-demographic/
economic risk
factors
• Living alone
• Age 80+
• Being female
• Being an immigrant
• Identifying as LGBTQ+
• Family structure
• Low income/financial security
• Psychological attributes (i.e. personality)
What are the socio- demographic/
economic risk
factors for social isolation and
loneliness?
Living with a compromised health status has been recognized as a possible risk factor for increased social isolation
Physical/mental health risk factors
(Canada’s National Seniors Council, 2014)
• Physical health
Chronic Conditions (i.e. dementia, arthritis)
Physical Disability/Mobility Challenges
Sensory Challenges (i.e. vision loss, hearing loss
• Age-related conditions
Incontinence
Fear of falling
Loss of independence (real or perceived)
• Mental health
Depression
Anxiety
Addictions
What are the
physical/mental health risk factors
for social isolation &
loneliness?
Some older adults are confronted with environmental challenges that place them at risk of social isolation and loneliness
Environmental risk factors
(De Jong-Gierveld et al., 2015)
• Limited or no access to transportation
• Limited or no access to necessary services
• Limited or no awareness of services/programs
• Living in a rural or remote area
• Living in an unsafe neighbourhood
• Limited or no access to technology
• No accessible design in built environment
What are the
environmental risk factors for social isolation &
loneliness?
Life transitions are unavoidable life events that can vary
anywhere from retirement to
death of a loved one. They often involve a loss that triggers a
sense of disequilibrium. In older age, it is common for multiple life transitions to occur in the same period, and to be related to each other.
Life transition risk factors
(Schumacher, Jones & Meleis, 1999)
• New Living Arrangement
• Immigration
• Loss of a loved one(s)
• Retirement
• Health Changes
• New role (i.e. caregiver, grandparent)
What are the life transition risk
factors for social isolation &
loneliness?
1. Assess needs: Listen with compassion
2. Reminiscence: Acknowledge the losses, bridge past and present
3. Role supplementation: Clarifying the new role, opportunities to learn and practice
4. Create a healthy environment: ensure accessibility, facilitate daily routines, honour cultural traditions
5. Mobilize resources: personal, family and community
How best to support an individual through life transitions?
(Schumacher, Jones & Meleis, 1999)
Complex life transition that includes: new living arrangement, new role, health changes and all associated losses
+ language barriers
+ transportation barriers
+ adjusting to a new culture + family obligations
+ potential dependency on family members
+ limited or no knowledge of available community supports
= increased risk of social isolation and loneliness
Immigration to Canada: A complex life
transition
• Please note that the experiences of “recent” immigrant older adults may differ from those of Canada’s more established older adult immigrants
• “Recent” or “new” immigrant refers to an individual who migrated to Canada within the preceding five years, including landed
immigrants and refugees
• Immigrant older adults that have been in Canada for many years may share the same experiences as non-immigrants aging in Canada
Note to readers:
(Employment and Social Development Canada, 2018)
Our research team spoke to 358 older immigrants in Peel and Halton from 2017-18.
56% recently experienced a life transition
63% relied on transportation that was not their own car 74% reported barriers to using public transportation
64% preferred to get information about services in their native language (not English)
65% reported language barriers to accessing services
From the Centre’s data
This is how some participants explained their experiences living in Canada and with social isolation/loneliness:
“I feel isolated when I am restricted by my language barrier in my interaction with people”
-Participant 1, 2017
In their own words
“Life is very different here from [back home], I have very limited interaction with the social
environment. Even though Canadians are nice, I can’t interact with them” –Participant 2, 2017
“My husband passed away 2 years ago. Since then I feel very lonely” –Participant 3, 2017
“Before I found the library and the other seniors [of my background] who go there, I stayed home all day cooking and doing housework”–Participant 4, 2017
“
”
“Even though I have some friends in Canada, I do not feel very close to them. They are not the same as my long-term friends back home”
–Participant 5, 2017
“I came to Canada to help my children with their tasks around the house. It’s okay if I don’t have many friends of my own” –Participant 6, 2017
“
”
Mr. and Mrs. P are in their late 70s and recently immigrated to Brampton, Canada from India to live with their son, daughter-in- law and 2 grandchildren. They speak very little English and rely on their son to help them get around. The couple enjoys being outdoors, however, during the day they stay home to look after their grandchildren while their son and daughter-in-law go to
work. They are grateful, but also wish they had more free time as they were used to having back home. Mrs. P believes they can’t do anything about it because their son’s expectation is that they came to Canada to care for the grandchildren and support the family.
Case study 1
Case study 1: Discussion question
1. What are the risk factors for social isolation or loneliness?
2. What are the losses?
3. Are there any family/cultural dynamics at play?
4. What can be done to support this couple?
• What could our organization do?
Mrs. Y is 65-years old and has been living in Canada for 5 years now. She can speak enough English to get by, but still prefers to have conversations in Mandarin. Mrs. Y was living with her
husband and was a very social and outgoing woman. After losing her husband 9 months ago, she lost interest in socializing and going out. Her family comes to visit her a lot and tried to
encourage her to join programs in the community. She went to one program at the library but did not continue attending
because there was no other Mandarin-speaking participants and the session was led in English. Mrs. Y longs for companionship, but these days she choses to just stay at home.
Case study 2
Case study 2: Discussion question
1. What are the risk factors for social isolation or loneliness?
2. What are the losses?
3. Are there any family/cultural dynamics at play?
4. What can be done to support this couple?
• What could our organization do?
1. Brainstorm the risk factors that might be
impacting the older immigrants we serve or hope to serve.
• Remember: socio-demographic, health, environmental and life transition risk factors
• For more information about the socio-demographic/economic trends in your city see the 2016 Census Data Sheets which are part of this toolkit.
Discussion questions
2. How can we reach out to socially isolated/lonely older immigrants?
• Think about our general outreach strategies.
• Is there anything we would change?
Discussion questions
3. How can our programs/services better support isolated or lonely older immigrants?
• Can we identify barriers older immigrants may experience to attending our programs/services?
• How can those be addressed? For more information see the Planning & Implementing Inclusive Programs resource from the Toolkit.
Discussion questions
References
Abakoumkin, G., Stroebe, M., Stroebe, W. (2010). Beyond Depression: Yearning for the Loss of a Loved One. OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying, 61(2), 85-101.
Antrobus, S., Edwards, J., Devane, C., Farmer, P., Herklots, H., Khan, O., Sutherland,R. (n.d.). Alone in the Crowd: Loneliness and Diversity. Campaign to End Loneliness, 13-48.
Burholt, V., and Dobbs, C. (2012). Research on Rural Ageing: Where Have We Got to and Where Are We Going In Europe. Journal of Rural Studies 28(4), 432-46.
Canada’s National Seniors Council. (2014). Scoping Review of the Literature: Social Isolation of Seniors. Retrieved from https:/www.canada.ca/
Community Development Halton. (November 2015). Loneliness and Social Isolation in Seniors.
References
Community Development Halton. (March 2016a). Seniors: Loneliness and Social Isolation. Community Dispatch, 21(2), 1-4
Community Development Halton. (March 2016b). Seniors: Loneliness and Social Isolation. Retrieved from http://www.cdhalton.ca/
Coyle, C. E., & Dugan, E. (2012). Social Isolation, Loneliness and Health Among Older Adults. Journal of Aging and Health, 24(8), 1346-1363.
De Jong-Gierveld, J., Francs, K. (1985). The Development of a Rasch-Type loneliness scale. Applied Psychological Measurement, 9(3), 289-99.
Employment and Social Development Canada. (2018). Social isolation of seniors - A Focus on New Immigrant and Refugee Seniors in Canada.
References
Hall, M., Havens, B., Jivan, T., Sylvestre, G. (2004). Social Isolation and Loneliness:
Differences between Older Rural and Urban Manitobans. Canadian Journal on Aging, 129
Jopling, K. (2015). Promising Approaches to Reducing Loneliness and Isolation in Later Life. Age UK, 1-68.
Krieger, J. L., Nussbaum, J. F., Pitts, M. J. (2005) Find the Right Place:
Social interaction and Life Transitions Among the Elderly. In Health Communication in Practice: A Case Study Approach (Routledge Communication Series, pp. 233- 242). Routledge
Nicholson, N. (2009). Social isolation in older adults: An
evolutionary concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65, 1342-1352
References
Schumacher, K. L., Jones, P. S., & Meleis, A. I. (1999). Helping elderly persons in transition: A framework for research and practice. In E. A. Swanson & T. Tripp-
Reimer (Eds.), Life transitions in the older adult: Issues for nurses and other health professionals (pp. 1-26). New York: Springer.
Schut, H., Stroebe, M., Stroebe, W. (2007). Health outcomes of bereavement. The Lancet, 370
The National Seniors Council. (2015-2016). Who’s at risk and what can be done about it? A review of the literature on the social isolation of different groups of seniors, 15-17
Victor, C. R. (2012). Loneliness in Care Homes: A Neglected Area of Research. Aging Health, 637-46.
This project was conducted from 2015-19. The research team made every effort to ensure information was accurate as of the time of publication, but please be aware that some of the information may have changed or may be out of date if accessed in the years following that. The inclusion of any agency or service in this toolkit does not constitute an endorsement of the service.
This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Note
This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
