Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.
Department of Engineering, King's College London, London, UK.
Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2024 Dec;19(1):2398259. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2024.2398259. Epub 2024 Sep 20.
Loneliness is a negative emotional state which is common in later life. The accumulative effects of loneliness have a significant impact on the physical and mental health of older adults. We aim to qualitatively explore the experiences of loneliness in later life and identify relevant behaviours and indicators which will inform novel methods of loneliness detection and intervention.
We conducted 60 semi-structured interviews with people aged 65 and over between September 2022 and August 2023. Data were analysed using a reflective thematic approach with early theme development on NVIVO software.
Three themes were identified from the experiences of loneliness in older adults. 1) Unique responses to loneliness, including crying, increased eating or drinking and sleep difficulties, 2) Age-related losses, such as networks, roles, and abilities to engage in activities reducing over time and 3) Individual differences in overcoming loneliness, where strategies such as keeping busy and adopting a positive mindset were impacted by motivation and mood of older adults.
Distinct signs and relevant factors to loneliness in later life have been identified which can be detected by future sensing technologies. Findings of this in-depth qualitative study highlight that loneliness is a subjective experience requiring a holistic and person-centred approach to detection and intervention.
孤独是一种常见于晚年的负面情绪状态。孤独的累积效应对老年人的身心健康有重大影响。我们旨在定性探索晚年孤独的体验，并确定相关行为和指标，为孤独检测和干预提供新方法。
我们在 2022 年 9 月至 2023 年 8 月期间对 65 岁及以上的人进行了 60 次半结构化访谈。数据使用 NVIVO 软件上的反思性主题方法进行分析。
从老年人的孤独体验中确定了三个主题。1）对孤独的独特反应，包括哭泣、增加饮食或饮水和睡眠困难，2）与年龄相关的丧失，如随着时间的推移，网络、角色和参与活动的能力减少，3）克服孤独的个体差异，其中保持忙碌和采取积极心态等策略受到老年人的动机和情绪的影响。
已经确定了晚年孤独的明显迹象和相关因素，可以通过未来的传感技术进行检测。这项深入定性研究的结果强调，孤独是一种主观体验，需要采用整体和以个人为中心的方法来进行检测和干预。
