Faculty of Social Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
BMC Geriatr. 2020 Sep 21;20(1):356. doi: 10.1186/s12877-020-01756-9.
Social isolation is a key concern for immigrant older adults. We examined the effectiveness of a peer-based intervention in reducing loneliness, social isolation, and improving psychosocial well-being with a sample of aging Chinese immigrants.
Sixty community-dwelling older Chinese immigrants aged 65 and older were randomly assigned to an intervention group and a control group (n = 30 each) in a randomized control parallel trial design. Intervention group participants received an eight-week peer support intervention. Twenty-four volunteers aged 48 to 76 engaged in two-on-one peer support through home visits and telephone calls to provide emotional support, problem-solving support, and community resource sharing. Social workers who are not blinded to the group assignment measured the changes of both the intervention group and the control group participants in a range of psychosocial outcomes including three primary outcomes (loneliness, social support, barriers to social participation) and five secondary outcomes (depressive symptoms, anxiety, life satisfaction, happiness, and purpose in life).
The 30 intervention group participants showed a statistically significant decrease in loneliness and increase in resilience when compared to the 30 control group participants. They reported fewer barriers to social participation, fewer depressive symptoms, increased life satisfaction, and happiness while no such improvements were observed in the control group.
There is a need to further examine the use of peer-based interventions for both program effectiveness and delivery efficiency. In the era of population aging and increasing immigration, diverse aging adults can be trained to fill volunteer support roles via peer-based intervention approaches.
ISRCTN, ISRCTN14572069 , Registered 23 December 2019 - Retrospectively registered.
社会孤立是移民老年人的一个主要关注点。我们研究了一种基于同伴的干预措施，通过对一群老年华裔移民进行试验，以减少孤独感、社会隔离并改善心理健康。
60 名居住在社区的 65 岁及以上的华裔老年移民被随机分配到干预组和对照组（n = 30 人），采用随机对照平行试验设计。干预组参与者接受了为期八周的同伴支持干预。24 名年龄在 48 至 76 岁之间的志愿者通过家访和电话进行一对一的同伴支持，提供情感支持、解决问题的支持和社区资源共享。社会工作人员对组分配不设盲法，测量了干预组和对照组参与者在一系列社会心理结果方面的变化，包括三个主要结果（孤独感、社会支持、社会参与障碍）和五个次要结果（抑郁症状、焦虑、生活满意度、幸福感和生活目的）。
与对照组相比，30 名干预组参与者的孤独感显著降低，适应力显著增强。他们报告的社会参与障碍较少，抑郁症状减少，生活满意度和幸福感增加，而对照组没有观察到这些改善。
有必要进一步研究同伴干预措施的使用，包括方案的有效性和交付效率。在人口老龄化和移民增加的时代，可以通过同伴干预方法培训多样化的老年移民来担任志愿者支持角色。
ISRCTN，ISRCTN14572069，2019 年 12 月 23 日注册-回顾性注册。
