School of Nursing, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care, King's College London, London, UK.
Health Soc Care Community. 2019 Jan;27(1):260-269. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12648. Epub 2018 Aug 29.
Globally the number of older people living alone is increasing. Little is known about the life experience of older people living alone in Mainland China. This study aimed to explore older people's experience regarding different components of their lives. A cross-sectional survey of 387 older people aged 60 years and above and living alone in two communities in Shanghai was conducted from April to July 2015. A structured questionnaire including 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, Activity of Daily Living Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3, Social Support Rate Scale and Older People's Quality of Life Questionnaire was used to assess the health status, loneliness, social support, quality of life and demographic information. A total of 15.7% of the participants rated their health as poor with 56.8% reporting chronic diseases and 26.9% reporting being depressed. A total of 71.1% of the participants reported a high level of functional ability. However, 54.3% and 21.7% of the participants reported a moderately and moderately high level of loneliness respectively. The median of SSRS was 30 and the mean of Older People's Quality of Life Questionnaire was 120.2, indicating a lower level of social support and quality of life. There were statistically significant differences in health, loneliness, social support and quality of life across the participants with different characteristics. Interventions to improve the health status, reduce loneliness, increase social support and maintain or improve quality of life of older people living alone in Shanghai could be developed and implemented. Potential interventions include providing frequent home care services, early detection of depression, encouraging more contacts from children and other family members, and providing support from other sources.
全球独居老人的数量正在增加。对于中国内地独居老人的生活经历，人们知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨老年人在生活的不同方面的体验。2015 年 4 月至 7 月，在上海的两个社区对 387 名 60 岁及以上的独居老年人进行了横断面调查。使用包括 15 项老年抑郁量表、日常生活活动量表、UCLA 孤独量表第 3 版、社会支持评定量表和老年人生活质量问卷的结构化问卷来评估健康状况、孤独感、社会支持、生活质量和人口统计学信息。共有 15.7%的参与者认为自己的健康状况不佳，56.8%的人报告患有慢性病，26.9%的人报告患有抑郁症。共有 71.1%的参与者报告了较高的功能能力。然而，54.3%和 21.7%的参与者分别报告了中度和中度高度的孤独感。SSRS 的中位数为 30，老年人生活质量问卷的平均值为 120.2，表明社会支持和生活质量水平较低。在具有不同特征的参与者中，健康状况、孤独感、社会支持和生活质量存在统计学差异。可以制定和实施干预措施，以改善上海独居老年人的健康状况、减少孤独感、增加社会支持并维持或提高他们的生活质量。潜在的干预措施包括提供频繁的家庭护理服务、早期发现抑郁症、鼓励子女和其他家庭成员更多地联系、并提供其他来源的支持。
