Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T04:52:14.777Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Attendance in adult day care centers and its relation to loneliness among frail older adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2011

Esther Iecovich*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology of Health and Gerontology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Aya Biderman
Affiliation:
Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Esther Iecovich, PhD, Department of Sociology of Health and Gerontology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel. Phone: +972-8-647-7424; Fax: +972-8-647-7635. Email: [email protected].

Abstract

Background: Loneliness is widespread among older adults, in particular among those who are chronically ill and functionally limited. The aims of the paper are: (i) to examine the extent to which users of day care centers experience loneliness compared to their peers who are non-users; and (ii) to explore the relationships between length of use and frequency of weekly attendance at day care centers and loneliness among users of day care centers.

Methods: A case-control study was used with a sample of 817 respondents of whom 417 were users of 13 day care centers and 400 were non-users, matched by age, gender, and family physician in the southern region of Israel. Data collection included face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire.

Results: The vast majority in both groups (79.3% and 76.3%, respectively) reported moderate to severe levels of loneliness. Perceived economic status and self-rated health were the most significant variables in explaining loneliness. No significant differences were found between users and non-users of day care centers in the level of loneliness. Attendance at day care centers, as well as length and frequency of use, had no significant association with loneliness.

Conclusion: More research, which will include quasi-experimental and longitudinal research designs, is necessary to examine the causal relationships between attendance at day care centers and loneliness. This can provide information on the effectiveness of day care centers in reducing loneliness among frail older adults.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aday, L. A. and Andersen, R. A. (1974). A framework for the study of access to medical care. Health Services Research, 9, 208220.Google Scholar
Andersen, R. M. (1995). Revisiting the behavioral model and access to medical care: does it matter? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andersson, L. (1998). Loneliness research and interventions: a review of the literature. Aging and Mental Health, 2, 264274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumgarten, M., Lebel, P., Laprise, H., Leclerc, C. and Quinn, C. (2002). Adult day care for the frail elderly: outcomes, satisfaction, and cost. Journal of Aging and Health, 14, 237259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bazargan, M., Bazargan, S. and Baker, R. S. (1998). Emergency department utilization, hospital admissions, and physician visits among older African-American persons. The Gerontologist, 38, 2537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bendelac, J. (2010). Membership in Sick Funds 2009. Jerusalem: National Insurance Institute. Available at: http://www.btl.gov.il/Publications/survey/Documents/seker_227.pdf; last accessed 18 February 2011.Google Scholar
Brodsky, J., Shnoor, Y. and Be'er, S. (2009). The Older in Israel: Statistical Yearbook. Jerusalem: Brookdale Institute.Google Scholar
Cacioppo, T. J., Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkey, L. C. and Thisted, R. A. (2006). Loneliness as a specific factor of depressive symptoms: cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Journal of Psychology and Aging, 21, 141151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cattan, M., White, M., Bond, J. and Learmouth, A. (2005). Preventing social isolation and loneliness among older people: a systematic review of health promotion interventions. Ageing and Society, 25, 4167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen-Mansfield, J. and Parpura-Gill, A. (2007). Loneliness in older persons: a theoretical model and empirical findings. International Psychogeriatrics, 19, 279294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dabelko, H. I. and Zimmerman, J. A. (2008). Outcomes of adult day services for participants: a conceptual model. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 27, 7892.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Jong Gierveld, J. (1995). Research into relationship research designs: personal relationships under the microscope. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 12, 583588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Jong Gierveld, J. and van Tilburg, T. G. (1999). Manual of the Loneliness Scale. Amsterdam: Department of Social Research Methodology, Vrije Universiteit.Google Scholar
Dunlop, D. D., Manheim, L. M., Song, J. and Chang, R. W. (2002). Gender and ethnic-racial disparities in health care utilization among older adults. Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences, 57B, 221233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fillenbaum, G. G. (1985). Screening the older: a brief instrumental activities of daily living measure. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 33, 689706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. and McHugh, P. R. (1975). “Mini-mental state”: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gerstorf, D., Smith, J. and Baltes, P. B. (2006). Systemic-holistic approach to differential aging: longitudinal findings from the Berlin Aging Study. Journal of Psychology and Aging, 21, 645663.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hashizume, Y. and Kanagawa, K. (1996). Correlates of participation in adult day care and quality of life in ambulatory frail elderly in Japan. Public Health Nursing, 30, 404415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkley, L. C., Masi, C. M., Berry, J. D. and Cacioppo, J. T. (2006). Loneliness is a unique predictor of age-related differences in systolic blood pressure. Aging and Psychology, 21, 152164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iecovich, E. and Carmel, S. (2011). Differences between users and non-users of day care centers among frail elderly persons in. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 30, 443462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iecovich, E., Jacobs, J. and Stessman, J. (2011). Loneliness, social networks and mortality: 18 years of follow-up from the Jerusalem Longitudinal Study. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 72, 243263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katz, S., Downs, T. D., Cash, H. R. and Grotz, R. C. (1970). Index of Activities of Daily Living. The Gerontologist, 1, 20301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korazim, M. and Tranjtenberg-Ovadia, S. (1994). The baskets of services in day care centers: models, of operation, and utilization patterns. In Korazim, M. (ed.), Day Care Centers for the Older in Israel: An Evaluation Study (pp. 73222). Jerusalem: Brookdale Institute.Google Scholar
Koziol, J. A, Zuraw, B. L. and Christiansen, S. (2002). Health care consumption among older patients in California: a comprehensive 10-year evaluation of trends in hospitalization rates. The Gerontologist, 42, 207217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marangoni, C. and Ickes, W. (1989). Loneliness: a theoretical review with implications for measurement. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 6, 93128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Modan, B. et al. (2002). Aging in Israel: Baseline Data from the Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study (CALAS). Tel Hashomer, Israel: Department of Clinical Epidemiology Chaim Sheba Medical Center.Google Scholar
Mullins, L. C., Smith, R., Colquitt, R. and Mushel, M. (1996). An examination of the effects of self-rated and objective indicators of health condition and economic condition on the loneliness of older people. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 15, 2337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penning, M. J. (1995). Health, social support, and the utilization of health services among older adults. Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences, 50, S330S340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Penninx, B. W. J. H., Van-Tilburg, T., Kriegsman, D. M. W. and Boeke, A. J. P. (1999). Social network, social support, and loneliness in older persons with different chronic diseases, Journal of Aging and Health, 11, 151168.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pinquart, M. and Sörensen, S. (2001). Influences on loneliness in older adults: a meta-analysis. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 23, 245266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Routasalo, E. R., Savikko, N., Tilvis, S. R., Strandberg, E. T. and Pitkala, H. K. (2006). Social contacts and their relationship to loneliness among aged people: a population-based study. Gerontology, 52, 181187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Savikko, N., Routasalo, P., Tilvis, R. S., Strandberg, T. E. and Pitkälä, K. H. (2005). Predictors and subjective causes of loneliness in an aged population. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatric, 41, 223233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, E. M., Sands, L., Weiss, S., Dowling, G. and Covinsky, K. (2010). Adult day health center participation and health-related quality of life. The Gerontologist, 50, 531540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shiovitz-Ezra, S. (2010). The role of social relationships in predicting loneliness: the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. Social Work Research, 34, 157167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sundstrom, G., Fransson, E., Malmberg, B. and Davey, A. (2009). Loneliness among older Europeans. European Journal of Ageing, 6, 267275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Theeke, L. A. (2007). Sociodemographic and health‐related risks for loneliness and outcome differences by loneliness status in a sample of older US adults. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia.Google Scholar
Tomaka, J., Thompson, S. and Palacios, R. (2006). The relation of social isolation, loneliness, and social support to disease outcomes among the elderly. Journal of Aging and Health, 18, 359384.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Toseland, R. W., McCallion, P., Gerber, T. and Banks, S. (2002). Predictors of health and human services use by persons with dementia and their family caregivers. Social Science and Medicine, 55, 12551266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Valadezname, A. A., Christine Lumadue, C., Gutierrez, B. and de Vries-Kell, S. (2006). Las Comadres and adult day care centers: the perceived impact of socialization on mental wellness. Journal of Aging Studies, 20, 3953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Victor, C. R., Scamler, S. J., Shah, S., Cook, D. G., Harris, E. and de Wilde, S. (2002). Has loneliness amongst older people increased? An investigation into variations between cohorts. Ageing and Society, 22, 585597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walsh, E. G., Wu, B., Mitchell, J. B. and Berkmann, L. F. (2003). Cognitive function and acute care utilization. Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58B, S38S49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yildirim, Y. and Kocabiyik, S. (2010). The relationship between social support and loneliness in Turkish patients with cancer. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19, 832839.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed