Intervention profiles to help tackle loneliness and social isolation among elderly people
- Periode: January 2020 – January 2024
- Status: completed
This project developed a typology of intervention profiles. The typology is a tool for finding suitable interventions for older people who are lonely or socially isolated.
Description
People of all ages can experience loneliness or social isolation, but older people are more at risk because they lose important people in their network, their health or mobility declines, they no longer fulfil a clear social role and feel that they no longer matter.
Long-term loneliness and isolation lead to serious health problems. That is why many interventions have been developed to tackle loneliness and social isolation. Most interventions focus on network development and activation, based on the idea that loneliness decreases when someone has more social contacts. However, this is not always a solution. Often, other help is needed to reduce loneliness or isolation, or to cope better with the situation.
This project has developed a typology of intervention profiles. The typology is a tool for finding suitable interventions for older people who are lonely or socially isolated. The profiles in the typology are based on more than 300 cases described in logbooks kept by professionals in Rotterdam, interviews with social professionals and more than 100 conversations with lonely and socially isolated older people themselves.
The project includes a workbook describing the typology, training for professionals and film material for educational purposes.
Researchers
- prof. dr. Anja Machielse (project leader)
- Janneke Adriaans (SOL Lerend Netwerk)
Partners
- Coalitie Erbij Rotterdam
- Gemeente Rotterdam
- SOL Lerend Netwerk
(Co-)funding
City of Rotterdam, Programme “Ouder en Wijzer”.
Results
Werkboek Interventieprofielen voor de aanpak van eenzaamheid en sociaal isolement bij ouderen by Anja Machielse and Janneke Ariaans, published by Coalitie Erbij Rotterdam, in collaboration with the Municipality of Rotterdam and the University of Humanistic Studies (Rotterdam – Utrecht, February 2020).
Training Interventieprofielen / typologie by the Coalitie Erbij Rotterdam.
Contact
Prof. dr. Anja Machielse, A.Machielse@UvH.nl.