Department of Sociology of Health and Gerontology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Int Psychogeriatr. 2012 Mar;24(3):439-48. doi: 10.1017/S1041610211001840.
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.
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.
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.
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.
孤独在老年人中很普遍，尤其是那些患有慢性病和身体功能受限的老年人。本文的目的是：（i）比较使用日间护理中心的老年人与非使用者的孤独程度；（ii）探讨使用日间护理中心的频率和每周使用次数与孤独感之间的关系。
采用病例对照研究，对以色列南部地区的 13 个日间护理中心的 817 名受访者进行了调查，其中 417 名是日间护理中心的使用者，400 名是未使用者，他们在年龄、性别和家庭医生方面匹配。数据收集包括使用结构化问卷进行面对面访谈。
两个组中的绝大多数人（分别为 79.3%和 76.3%）报告了中度至重度孤独感。感知的经济状况和自我评估的健康状况是解释孤独感的最重要变量。日间护理中心的使用者和非使用者之间的孤独感水平没有显著差异。日间护理中心的出勤率以及使用时间和频率与孤独感没有显著关联。
需要进行更多的研究，包括准实验和纵向研究设计，以检验日间护理中心的出勤率与孤独感之间的因果关系。这可以为日间护理中心在减轻体弱老年人的孤独感方面的有效性提供信息。
