JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Social isolation and loneliness affect 61% of US adults and are associated with significant increases in excessive mental and physical morbidity and mortality.

Objective:

To evaluate the effects of participation with a digitally-enabled peer support intervention on loneliness, depression, anxiety, and health-related quality of life among lonely adults.

Methods:

Adults aged 18-64 years were recruited to participate in a peer support program. Participants were asked to complete surveys at baseline, 30, 60, and 90 days which included questions from the validated UCLA-3 Loneliness Scale, The Patient Health Questionnaire 2-Item Scale (PHQ-2), General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7), and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL-2). A growth curve modeling procedure using multilevel regression analyses was conducted to test for linear changes in the outcome variables from baseline to the end of the intervention.

Results:

815 ethnically and socially diverse participants completed registration. Program engagement was high, with 90% engaged with the platform at 60 days and 86% at 90 days. There was a statistically (p < .001 for all outcomes) and clinically significant improvement in all of the clinical outcomes of interest: a 9% decrease in loneliness within the first 30 days and 19% at 90 days; a 31% decline in depression symptoms by 30 days and a 42% at 90 days; a 20% reduction in anxiety symptoms at 30 days and 17% at 90 days, and a 13% improvement in health-related quality of life at 90 days. Based on changes in health-related quality of life, we estimated a reduction in annual medical cost of $615 per participant. The program was successful in referring participants to mental health education resources, with 31% of participants accessing a resource about how to best support those experiencing psychological distress and nearly 20% of women accessing a program about the risks of excessive alcohol use.

Conclusions:

The results of this study suggest that a digitally-enabled peer support program can be effective for addressing loneliness, depression, anxiety, and health-related quality of life among a diverse population of lonely adults. Moreover, it holds promise as a tool for identifying and referring members to behavioral health programs based on their unique needs.