Lange Sara Kruse, Stig Maiken Hauge, Eghøj Martin, Petersen Christina Bjørk
The Department of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark.
National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, 1455 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Geriatrics (Basel). 2024 Jun 25;9(4):88. doi: 10.3390/geriatrics9040088.
Loneliness among nursing home residents is an increasing public health issue and consists of a combination of social, emotional, and existential loneliness. Cycling Without Age (CWA) involves taking nursing home residents on trishaw rides pedaled by trained volunteer 'pilots'. This study aims to explore nursing home residents' lived experiences of CWA and whether participation in CWA can mitigate experiences of loneliness.
A qualitative phenomenological design was used. We conducted three observations and eight interviews: semi-structured interviews (n = 5) and informal interviews (n = 3) with passengers in CWA. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Three themes were developed: 1. creating meaningful communities (related to the social mechanism connected to participating in CWA), 2. breaking the monotony of everyday life (related to how the passengers experience CWA as a meaningful activity), and 3. reconnecting to oneself (related to the meaningful experience the passengers have when they are connected to their local communities and reminiscence).
Taking part in CWA may mitigate loneliness, as passengers perceive it as being meaningful. These results strengthen the notion that participating in meaningful activities hold the potential to mitigate feelings of loneliness among nursing home residents.
养老院居民的孤独感是一个日益严重的公共卫生问题，它由社会孤独、情感孤独和存在孤独共同构成。“无龄骑行”（CWA）项目是指由经过培训的志愿者“骑手”蹬着三轮车，搭载养老院居民出行。本研究旨在探索养老院居民参与“无龄骑行”的生活体验，以及参与该项目是否能减轻孤独感。
采用质性现象学设计。我们进行了三次观察和八次访谈：对参与“无龄骑行”的乘客进行半结构化访谈（n = 5）和非正式访谈（n = 3）。使用反思性主题分析法对数据进行分析。
形成了三个主题：1. 创建有意义的社区（与参与“无龄骑行”相关的社会机制有关），2. 打破日常生活的单调（与乘客如何将“无龄骑行”体验为一项有意义的活动有关），3. 重新与自我建立联系（与乘客在与当地社区建立联系并回忆往事时所获得的有意义体验有关）。
参与“无龄骑行”可能会减轻孤独感，因为乘客认为它很有意义。这些结果强化了这样一种观念，即参与有意义的活动有可能减轻养老院居民的孤独感。
