JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Social prescription programs represent a viable solution to linking primary care patients to non-medical community resources for improving patient well-being. However, their success depends on the integration of patient needs with local resources. This integration could be accelerated by digital tools that employ expressive ontology for organizing knowledge resources, thus enabling a seamless navigation of diverse community interventions and services tailored to the needs of individual users. This infrastructure bears particular significance for older adults, who experience a range of social needs impacting their health, including social isolation and loneliness. An essential first step in enabling knowledge mobilization and the successful implementation of social prescription initiatives to meet the social needs of older adults is to incorporate the evidence-based academic literature on what works, with on-the-ground solutions in the community.

Objective:

Integrate scientific-based evidence with on-the-ground knowledge to build a comprehensive list of intervention terms and keywords as they relate to reducing social isolation and loneliness in older adults.

Methods:

A meta-review was conducted using a search strategy combining terms related to older adult population, social isolation and loneliness, and study types relevant to reviews, using five databases. Review extraction included intervention characteristics, outcomes [social (e.g., loneliness, social isolation, social support) or mental health (e.g., psychological well-being, depression, anxiety)], and effectiveness (reported as consistent, mixed or not supported). Terms related to identified intervention types were extracted from the reviewed literature as well as descriptions of corresponding community services in Montréal, Canada available from online regional, municipal, and community data sources.

Results:

The meta-review identified 11 intervention types addressing social isolation and loneliness in older adults by either (1) increasing social interactions, (2) providing instrumental support (3) promoting mental and physical well-being and/or (4) providing home and community care. Group-based social activities, support groups with educational elements, recreational activities, and training/use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), were the most effective in improving outcomes. Examples of most intervention types were found in community data sources. Terms derived from the literature that were most commonly congruent with those describing existing community services were related to telehealth, recreational activities, and psychological therapy. However, several discrepancies were observed between review-based terms and those addressing available services.

Conclusions:

A range of interventions found to be effective at addressing social isolation and loneliness or their impact on mental health were identified from the literature and many were represented in services available to older residents in Montreal, Canada. However, different terms were sometimes used to describe or categorise similar services across data sources. Establishing an efficient means of identifying and structuring such sources is important to facilitate referrals and help-seeking behaviours of older adults and for strategic planning of resources. Clinical Trial: not applicable