Loneliness among older people living in long term care settings in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Health at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

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dc.contributor.authorBogati, Rubina
dc.date.accessioned2017-06-06T03:31:12Z
dc.date.available2017-06-06T03:31:12Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.description.abstractIntroduction Loneliness is a major problem experienced by older people living in long term care settings. Among older people, loneliness has been associated with poorer physical and mental health. However, there is limited information known about the prevalence of loneliness and socio-demographic and health characteristics associated with loneliness, among older people living in long term care settings in New Zealand. Methodology This study used a cross-sectional correlational design to explore the degree of loneliness among older people living in long term care settings in New Zealand and the socio-demographic and heath characteristics associated with loneliness. Methods included a demographic data sheet, the Barthel Index to measure functional independence, the EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS to measure health and wellbeing, the geriatric depression scale to measure depression, and the De-Jong Gierveld loneliness scale to measure loneliness. Between December 2015 and April 2016, data from 36 participants were collected using predominantly face to face interviews. Results The mean age of participants was 81 years (95% CI: 77.81-84.42). Analysis revealed older people experienced marginal loneliness (M = 2.36, 95% CI: 1.76-2.96). Logistic regression predicted loneliness was almost twice as likely to occur in older people with low perceived health (OR = 1.78, p = .04) and was more than twice as likely to occur in those with fewer social networks (OR = 2.53, p = .03). Logistic regression also predicted that those with fewer social networks were three times more likely to experience social loneliness (OR = 3.18, p < .00). Conclusion Loneliness is prevalent among older people living in long term care settings in New Zealand and is associated with lower levels of perceived health and fewer social networks. Further research with a larger population is needed to understand loneliness, the factors associated with it, and more importantly, strategies to reduce it.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10179/11139
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMassey Universityen_US
dc.rightsThe Authoren_US
dc.subjectLoneliness in old ageen_US
dc.subjectOlder peopleen_US
dc.subjectNursing home careen_US
dc.subjectPsychological aspectsen_US
dc.subjectNew Zealanden_US
dc.subjectResearch Subject Categories::INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AREAS::Older people and ageingen_US
dc.titleLoneliness among older people living in long term care settings in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Health at Massey University, Albany, New Zealanden_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
massey.contributor.authorBogati, Rubinaen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineHealthen_US
thesis.degree.grantorMassey Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Philosophy (MPhil)en_US
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