Key points
- Social connectedness is an important aspect of the health of all people but especially older people in residential aged care who may be feeling isolated.
- Social connectedness can be achieved through face-to-face contact or remotely through communication technology such as phones, emails, Skype, WhatsApp, and Facebook.
Social connectedness is defined as the state and experience of belonging to a social relationship or network. [1] Social connectedness refers to the relationships with the people around a person including family, friends, the community such as the aged care facility, or even those far from the person or considered only casual acquaintances. Social connections can happen either in person or remotely.
Meaningful social connections or quality relationships are key to achieving a sense or feeling of belonging. This is sometimes challenging for older people in aged care due to different personalities, diverse backgrounds and difficulty forming new friendships due to individual factors (such as mental health problems or dementia). Engaging in common interests or hobbies usually plays an important part in establishing quality relationships. For families, friends and people supporting the older person, ensuring that they feel cared for can enhances quality connections.
This evidence theme is a summary of one of the key topics identified by a scoping review of social isolation research. If you need more specific or comprehensive information on this topic, try using the PubMed search below.
We found two reviews that reported on social connectedness. Findings reported were:
- One review reported on a study that found a gender-based social club meeting with gender-specific activities benefitted older men more than older women in aged care. Personal identity and well-being improved in older men but not in older women. Likewise, depression and anxiety, which are related to social isolation and loneliness, decreased in older men but not in older women. No change was found in cognitive ability in both groups. [2, 3]
- Another review reporting on social connectivity found that by getting connected with more family members and friends using technology and communications applications (i.e., email, Skype) and social media (i.e., Facebook), older people became less lonely. [4]
- Regularly connect with or contact older people, either in person or via telephone or video calls using different types of technology.
- Attempt to have meaningful conversations by talking about things that the older person likes or can relate with.
- Design and implement social activities in residential aged care settings to promote social connectedness.
- Be aware of social activities or groups for people living in the community. Discuss this with the individual regularly.
- Understand that not all people will want to seek additional social connections.
- Support older people to learn about and use varying forms of communication technology so they can contact their loved ones more often or if face-to-face contact is limited (e.g., COVID-19-related restrictions or if they live far away).
- Lee RM, Robbins SB. Measuring Belongingness: The Social Connectedness and the Social Assurance Scales. J Counsel Psych. 1995;42(2):232-41.
- Franck L, Molyneux N, Parkinson L. Systematic review of interventions addressing social isolation and depression in aged care clients. Qual Life Res. 2016;25(6):1395-407.
- Gleibs IH, Haslam C, Jones JM, Alexander Haslam S, McNeill J, Connolly H. No country for old men? The role of a 'Gentlemen's Club' in promoting social engagement and psychological well-being in residential care. Aging Mental Health. 2011;15(4):456-66.
- Ibarra F, Baez M, Cernuzzi L, Casati F. A Systematic Review on Technology-Supported Interventions to Improve Old-Age Social Wellbeing: Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Connectedness. J Healthc Eng. 2020;2020:2036842.
