Van Orden Kimberly A, Conwell Yeates, Chapman Benjamin P, Buttaccio April, VanBergen Alexandra, Beckwith Ellen, Santee Angela, Rowe Jody, Palumbos Deborah, Williams Geoffrey, Messing Susan, Sörensen Silvia, Tu Xin
Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, USA.
Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2022 Nov 30;30:101040. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2022.101040. eCollection 2022 Dec.
Evidence-based strategies to reduce loneliness in later life are needed because loneliness impacts all domains of health, functioning, and quality of life. Volunteering is a promising strategy, as a large literature of observational studies documents associations between volunteering and better health and well-being. However, relatively few studies have used randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to examine benefits of volunteering, and none have examined loneliness. The primary objective of the Helping Older People Engage (HOPE) study is to examine the social-emotional benefits of a social volunteering program for lonely older adults. This manuscript describes the rationale and design of the trial.
We are randomly assigning adults aged 60 or older (up to 300) who report loneliness to 12 months of either AmeriCorps Seniors volunteering program or an active control (self-guided life review). Co-primary outcomes are assessed via self-report-loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale) and quality of life (WHOQOL-Bref). Enrollment was completed in May 2022 and follow-up assessments will continue through May 2023, with completion of primary outcomes soon thereafter.
Since older adults who report loneliness are less likely to actively seek out volunteering opportunities, if results support efficacy of volunteering for reducing loneliness, dissemination and scaling up efforts may involve connecting primary care patients who are lonely with AmeriCorps Seniors through aging services agencies.This RCT is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03343483).
由于孤独会影响健康、功能和生活质量的各个方面，因此需要基于证据的策略来减少晚年的孤独感。志愿服务是一种很有前景的策略，因为大量观察性研究文献记录了志愿服务与更好的健康和幸福感之间的关联。然而，相对较少的研究使用随机对照试验（RCT）来检验志愿服务的益处，而且没有一项研究考察过孤独感。“帮助老年人参与（HOPE）”研究的主要目的是检验一项社会志愿服务项目对孤独老年人的社会情感益处。本手稿描述了该试验的基本原理和设计。
我们将60岁及以上（最多300名）报告有孤独感的成年人随机分配到参加为期12个月的美国服务队老年人志愿服务项目或积极对照组（自我引导的生活回顾）。通过自我报告的孤独感（加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独量表）和生活质量（世界卫生组织生活质量简表）来评估共同主要结局。招募工作于2022年5月完成，后续评估将持续到2023年5月，此后不久将完成主要结局的评估。
由于报告有孤独感的老年人主动寻求志愿服务机会的可能性较小，如果结果支持志愿服务在减少孤独感方面的有效性，推广和扩大相关努力可能包括通过老年服务机构将孤独的初级保健患者与美国服务队老年人联系起来。该随机对照试验已在clinicaltrials.gov（NCT03343483）注册。
