Impact of the community intervention 'Auzozaintza' to address loneliness among community-dwelling older adults: a pilot pre-post study
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Abstract
Introduction: Chronic loneliness is increasingly recognized as a significant detriment to health and well-being. Projections indicate a substantial escalation in cases of chronic loneliness in the forthcoming years, with a particularly pronounced impact on women. In response, a variety of interventions are currently being developed and executed to mitigate this issue. However, empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of group interventions in alleviating loneliness remains sparse. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the pilot community intervention “Auzozaintza” on loneliness and health (anxiety, depression and self-rated health) of older adults in the town of Hernani, Spain.
Methods: A pre-post study design without a control group was conducted with participants from the three neighbourhoods in which the intervention was piloted. All 20 participants were women, with a mean age of 80.3 ± 5.1 years, 15 of them were widow and 15 lived alone. Self-reported loneliness (measured by the UCLA Loneliness scale), anxiety, depression and self-rated health were assessed over a period of six months from February to September 2023. Bayesian inference was applied to estimate the association between the intervention and the selected outcomes.
Results: UCLA along with its three dimensions decreased after the intervention, with all of them showing near statistical significance. The prevalence of anxiety and depression decreased over the period, with a greater uncertainty for the former (PR=0.50; 95% CrI: 0.15, 1.31) but being statistically significant in the latter (PR=0.38; 95% CrI: 0.13, 0.90). No effects were observed in self-rated health.
Conclusion: The positive results observed in this study may justify the expansion of the “Auzozaintza” intervention across the municipality of Hernani. Future research should examine the replicability of these favourable effects in neighbourhoods of different social contexts, utilizing a larger and a more heterogeneous sample, specially including men. Additionally, future longitudinal and comparative studies are needed to determine whether the benefits observed are sustained over time and attributable to the intervention along with qualitative studies that explore participants’ experiences.
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