engleski

Identification of Risk Psychosocial Factors as Predictors of Loneliness of Elderly in Nursing Homes During Social Isolation Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

The elderly is at bigger risk for getting COVID-19 virus, and a particularly vulnerable group are people placed in homes for the elderly and frail. The aims of the study were: (1) to examine differences in the respondent’s experiences of social isolation, loneliness and perception of social support, (2) to examine correlations between the dimensions of social isolation and the experience of social support with the experience of loneliness, and (3) to examine whether dimensions of social isolation and perceived social support are risky psychosocial significant predictors of loneliness. The cross-sectional study was conducted on 98 participants from three nursing homes in Croatia, EU. It used Social Provision Scale, the short- form Loneliness Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The results indicate that people who are single are lonelier, and if they do not have descendants are less likely to contact their family and at the same time they report a weaker social support experience. Loneliness is a statistically positive thing with a social provision dimension, information availability, and a significant negative correlation with the experience of social support. The dimensions of social provision, access to information and perceptions of social support contribute to the experience of loneliness. The constant exposure to negative information about the pandemic, the insecurity and anxiety of the people who communicate with them, make the users of homes for the elderly and infirm even more vulnerable to the development of loneliness.

elderly ; COVID-19 ; pandemics ; residential care ; nursing home ; loneliness ; social isolation ; social support

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