“Not Alone in Loneliness”: A Qualitative Evaluation of a Program Promoting Social Capital among Lonely Older People in Primary Health Care

Laura Coll-Planas, Dolors Rodríguez-Arjona, Mariona Pons-Vigués, Fredrica Nyqvist, Teresa Puig and Rosa Monteserín
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Laura Coll-Planas: Fundació Salut i Envelliment (Foundation on Health and Ageing), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08041 Barcelona, Spain
Dolors Rodríguez-Arjona: Fundació Salut i Envelliment (Foundation on Health and Ageing), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08041 Barcelona, Spain
Mariona Pons-Vigués: Servei Català de la Salut (CatSalut), Planning and Assessment Area, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Fredrica Nyqvist: Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, Social Policy, Åbo Akademi University, 65101 Vaasa, Finland
Teresa Puig: Institute of Biomedical Research (IIB Sant Pau), 08041 Barcelona, Spain
Rosa Monteserín: Institute of Biomedical Research (IIB Sant Pau), 08041 Barcelona, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: The weekly group-based program “Paths: from loneliness to participation” was conducted face-to-face over 15 sessions by nurses, social workers and volunteers in primary care in Catalonia (Spain) to alleviate loneliness among older people by promoting peer support and participation in community assets. We aimed at exploring participants’ experiences of loneliness and participation prior to the program and its perceived benefits. The qualitative design was descriptive-interpretative. Data were collected through three focus groups and 41 interviews applying a semistructured topic guide involving 26 older participants, six professionals and nine volunteers. Participant-observation of all sessions involved the 38 older people who started the program. A thematic content analysis was applied. Older persons with diverse profiles of loneliness and participation explained different degrees of decrease in loneliness, an increase in participation in local community assets, companionship, peer support and friendship, and an empowerment process. Successful cases reported improvements in mental wellbeing and recovering the sense that life was worth living. Loneliness persisted among some widowed participants and vulnerabilities hampered some benefits. Participants, professionals and volunteers reported different degrees of success in older people to alleviate loneliness by enhancing social relationships and activities through complex processes interrelated with health and socioeconomic factors.

Keywords: ageing; qualitative research; primary health care; loneliness; social capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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