Gunnes Mari, Løe Ida-Camilla, Kalseth Jorid
Department of Health Research, SINTEF Digital, Trondheim, Norway.
Department of Technology Management, SINTEF Digital, Steinkjer, Norway.
BMC Geriatr. 2024 Mar 2;24(1):215. doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-04837-1.
Recognizing the escalating public health concerns of loneliness and social isolation in aging populations, this study seeks to comprehensively explore the potential of information and communication technology (ICT)-based interventions to address these issues among older adults. This scoping review of reviews aims to map and synthesize existing evidence on the effectiveness and scope of ICT interventions targeting loneliness and social isolation in community-dwelling older adults, elucidating types of technology, impacts, facilitators, barriers, and research gaps.
Following the Joanna Briggs Institute framework, we systematically searched eight diverse databases identifying relevant published reviews. We included English-written, peer-reviewed reviews of all types, with no limits regarding time of publication about ICTs targeting loneliness and/or social isolation for community-dwelling older adults. Eligible reviews were analysed and summarized, offering a holistic narrative of the reported types of ICTs and their impact, the identified facilitators and barriers influencing the implementation and adoption of ICT interventions, and the research gaps identified in the literature.
The review included 39 publications published between 2012 and 2024, spanning systematic, scoping, and reviews of reviews. Various ICTs were reported, primarily social media virtual communities, followed by video-mediated friendly visits, conversational agents, social robots, exergames and online gameplay. Predominantly positive impacts on mitigating social isolation and loneliness were evident for these ICTs, although methodological diversity and contradictory findings complicated definite conclusions. Facilitators and barriers encompassed individual competencies, access and usage, and intervention design and implementation. Research gaps involved targeting specific subgroups, exploring innovative technologies, incorporating diverse study designs, improving research methodologies, and addressing usability and accessibility. Future research should focus on identifying elderly individuals who can benefit the most from ICT use, exploring novel technologies, using a wider range of study designs, and enhancing usability and accessibility considerations.
This review sheds light on the diverse range of ICTs, their impact, and the facilitators and barriers associated with their use. Future investigations should prioritize refining outcome measures, addressing gender differences, and enhancing the usability and accessibility of interventions. The involvement of older adults in the design process and the exploration of technological training interventions hold promise in overcoming barriers.
鉴于老龄化人口中孤独感和社会隔离对公共卫生的影响日益加剧，本研究旨在全面探索基于信息通信技术（ICT）的干预措施在解决老年人这些问题方面的潜力。本综述性研究旨在梳理和综合现有证据，以了解针对社区居住老年人孤独感和社会隔离的ICT干预措施的有效性和范围，阐明技术类型、影响、促进因素、障碍及研究空白。
遵循乔安娜·布里格斯研究所的框架，我们系统检索了八个不同的数据库，以识别相关的已发表综述。我们纳入了所有类型的英文同行评审综述，对针对社区居住老年人孤独感和/或社会隔离的ICT的发表时间没有限制。对符合条件的综述进行分析和总结，全面阐述所报告的ICT类型及其影响、影响ICT干预措施实施和采用的已确定的促进因素和障碍，以及文献中发现的研究空白。
该综述纳入了2012年至2024年间发表的39篇文献，涵盖系统综述、范围综述和综述性研究。报告了各种ICT，主要是社交媒体虚拟社区，其次是视频介导的友好访问、对话代理、社交机器人、健身游戏和在线游戏。尽管方法的多样性和相互矛盾的研究结果使得出明确结论变得复杂，但这些ICT对减轻社会隔离和孤独感的主要积极影响是明显的。促进因素和障碍包括个人能力、获取和使用以及干预设计和实施。研究空白包括针对特定亚组、探索创新技术、纳入多样化的研究设计、改进研究方法以及解决可用性和可及性问题。未来的研究应侧重于确定能从ICT使用中获益最大的老年人，探索新技术，采用更广泛的研究设计，并加强对可用性和可及性的考虑。
本综述揭示了ICT的多样性、其影响以及与其使用相关的促进因素和障碍。未来的研究应优先完善结果测量、解决性别差异，并提高干预措施的可用性和可及性。让老年人参与设计过程以及探索技术培训干预措施有望克服障碍。
