Sheridan CollegeSOURCE: Sheridan Scholarly Output, Research, and CreativeExcellenceWhat are the Risk Factors of Social Isolation andLoneliness Professional Development and Training Resources

2019

What are the Risk Factors of Social Isolation andLonelinessSheridan Centre for Elder Research

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What are the Risk Factors of Social

Isolation and Loneliness?

Developed by: Sheridan Centre for Elder Research, Oakville ON, Canada – 2019

To access the Social Isolation and Loneliness Toolkit visit:

https://source.sheridancollege.ca/centres_elder_building_connected_communities/

Building Connected Communities: Social Isolation and

Loneliness Toolkit

• To understand the categories of and types of risk factors

related to social isolation and loneliness

• To consider immigration as a life transition and learn about

how/why it is a risk factor for social isolation/loneliness

• To reflect on which risk factors might impact our

members/clients and consider ways to reach out/support

them better

Learning Objectives

• Risk factors are personal, situational or environmental factors

that increase the likelihood that an individual will experience

social isolation or loneliness

• Generally, the more risk factors an individual faces, the higher

their likelihood of experiencing social isolation or loneliness

• For example: RISE Spectrum from HelpAge Canada

Risk factors

(HelpAge Canada, 2015)

http://rise-cisa.ca/resources/spectrum/

The research suggests that

various social, personal and

economic factors can put

older adults at greater risk of

social isolation/loneliness

(The National Seniors Council, 2015-2016)

Socio-demographic/

economic risk

factors

• Living alone

• Age 80+

• Being female

• Being an immigrant

• Identifying as LGBTQ+

• Family structure

• Low income/financial

security

• Psychological attributes

(i.e. personality)

(Community Development Halton, 2015)

What are the socio-

demographic/

economic risk

factors for social

isolation and

loneliness?

Living with a compromised health

status has been recognized as a

possible risk factor for increased

social isolation

Physical/mental health

risk factors

(Canada’s National Seniors Council, 2014)

• Physical health

Chronic Conditions (i.e. dementia,

arthritis)

Physical Disability/Mobility Challenges

Sensory Challenges (i.e. vision

loss, hearing loss

• Age-related conditions

Incontinence

Fear of falling

Loss of independence (real or

perceived)

• Mental health

Depression

Anxiety

Addictions

(Community Development Halton, 2015)

What are the

physical/mental

health risk factors

for social isolation &

loneliness?

Some older adults are confronted

with environmental challenges

that place them at risk of social

isolation and loneliness

Environmental risk

factors

(De Jong-Gierveld et al., 2015)

• Limited or no access to

transportation

• Limited or no access to

necessary services

• Limited or no awareness of

services/programs

• Living in a rural or remote area

• Living in an unsafe

neighbourhood

• Limited or no access to

technology

• No accessible design in built

environment

(Community Development Halton, 2015)

What are the

environmental risk

factors for social

isolation &

loneliness?

Life transitions are unavoidable

life events that can vary

anywhere from retirement to

death of a loved one. They often

involve a loss that triggers a

sense of disequilibrium. In older

age, it is common for multiple life

transitions to occur in the same

period, and to be related to each

other.

Life transition risk

factors

(Schumacher, Jones & Meleis, 1999)

• New Living Arrangement

• Immigration

• Loss of a loved one(s)

• Retirement

• Health Changes

• New role (i.e. caregiver,

grandparent)

(Community Development Halton, 2015)

What are the life

transition risk

factors for social

isolation &

loneliness?

1. Assess needs: Listen with compassion

2. Reminiscence: Acknowledge the losses, bridge past and

present

3. Role supplementation: Clarifying the new role, opportunities

to learn and practice

4. Create a healthy environment: ensure accessibility, facilitate

daily routines, honour cultural traditions

5. Mobilize resources: personal, family and community

How best to support an individual through

life transitions?

(Schumacher, Jones & Meleis, 1999)

Complex life transition that includes: new living arrangement, new

role, health changes and all associated losses

+ language barriers

+ transportation barriers

+ adjusting to a new culture

+ family obligations

+ potential dependency on family members

+ limited or no knowledge of available community supports

= increased risk of social isolation and loneliness

Immigration to Canada: A complex life

transition

• Please note that the experiences of “recent” immigrant older adults may differ from those of Canada’s more established older adult immigrants

• “Recent” or “new” immigrant refers to an individual who migrated to Canada within the preceding five years, including landed immigrants and refugees

• Immigrant older adults that have been in Canada for many years may share the same experiences as non-immigrants aging in Canada

Note to readers:

(Employment and Social Development Canada, 2018)

Our research team spoke to 358 older immigrants in Peel and

Halton from 2017-18.

56% recently experienced a life transition

63% relied on transportation that was not their own car

74% reported barriers to using public transportation

64% preferred to get information about services in their native

language (not English)

65% reported language barriers to accessing services

From the Centre’s data

This is how some participants explained their experiences living

in Canada and with social isolation/loneliness:

“I feel isolated when I am restricted by my language barrier

in my interaction with people”-Participant 1, 2017

In their own words

“Life is very different here from [back home], I

have very limited interaction with the social

environment. Even though Canadians are nice, I

can’t interact with them” –Participant 2, 2017

“My husband passed away 2 years ago. Since

then I feel very lonely” –Participant 3, 2017

“Before I found the library and the other seniors

[of my background] who go there, I stayed home

all day cooking and doing housework”–Participant 4, 2017

“

”

“Even though I have some friends in Canada, I

do not feel very close to them. They are not the

same as my long-term friends back home”

–Participant 5, 2017

“I came to Canada to help my children with their

tasks around the house. It’s okay if I don’t have

many friends of my own” –Participant 6, 2017

“

”

Mr. and Mrs. P are in their late 70s and recently immigrated to

Brampton, Canada from India to live with their son, daughter-in-

law and 2 grandchildren. They speak very little English and rely

on their son to help them get around. The couple enjoys being

outdoors, however, during the day they stay home to look after

their grandchildren while their son and daughter-in-law go to

work. They are grateful, but also wish they had more free time as

they were used to having back home. Mrs. P believes they can’t

do anything about it because their son’s expectation is that they

came to Canada to care for the grandchildren and support the

family.

Case study 1

Case study 1: Discussion question

1. What are the risk factors for social isolation or

loneliness?

2. What are the losses?

3. Are there any family/cultural dynamics at play?

4. What can be done to support this couple?

• What could our organization do?

Mrs. Y is 65-years old and has been living in Canada for 5 years

now. She can speak enough English to get by, but still prefers to

have conversations in Mandarin. Mrs. Y was living with her

husband and was a very social and outgoing woman. After losing

her husband 9 months ago, she lost interest in socializing and

going out. Her family comes to visit her a lot and tried to

encourage her to join programs in the community. She went to

one program at the library but did not continue attending

because there was no other Mandarin-speaking participants and

the session was led in English. Mrs. Y longs for companionship,

but these days she choses to just stay at home.

Case study 2

Case study 2: Discussion question

1. What are the risk factors for social isolation or

loneliness?

2. What are the losses?

3. Are there any family/cultural dynamics at play?

4. What can be done to support this couple?

• What could our organization do?

1. Brainstorm the risk factors that might be

impacting the older immigrants we serve or hope

to serve.

• Remember: socio-demographic, health, environmental and

life transition risk factors

• For more information about the socio-demographic/economic

trends in your city see the 2016 Census Data Sheets which

are part of this toolkit.

Discussion questions

2. How can we reach out to socially isolated/lonely

older immigrants?

• Think about our general outreach strategies.

• Is there anything we would change?

Discussion questions

3. How can our programs/services better support

isolated or lonely older immigrants?

• Can we identify barriers older immigrants may experience to

attending our programs/services?

• How can those be addressed? For more information see the

Planning & Implementing Inclusive Programs resource from

the Toolkit.

Discussion questions

ReferencesAbakoumkin, G., Stroebe, M., Stroebe, W. (2010). Beyond Depression: Yearning for the Loss of a Loved One. OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying, 61(2), 85-101.

Antrobus, S., Edwards, J., Devane, C., Farmer, P., Herklots, H., Khan, O., Sutherland,R. (n.d.). Alone in the Crowd: Loneliness and Diversity. Campaign to End Loneliness, 13-48.

Burholt, V., and Dobbs, C. (2012). Research on Rural Ageing: Where Have We Got to and Where Are We Going In Europe. Journal of Rural Studies 28(4), 432-46.

Canada’s National Seniors Council. (2014). Scoping Review of the Literature: Social Isolation of Seniors. Retrieved from https:/www.canada.ca/

Community Development Halton. (November 2015). Loneliness and Social Isolation in Seniors.

ReferencesCommunity Development Halton. (March 2016a). Seniors: Loneliness and Social Isolation. Community Dispatch, 21(2), 1-4

Community Development Halton. (March 2016b). Seniors: Loneliness and Social Isolation. Retrieved from http://www.cdhalton.ca/

Coyle, C. E., & Dugan, E. (2012). Social Isolation, Loneliness and Health Among Older Adults. Journal of Aging and Health, 24(8), 1346-1363.

De Jong-Gierveld, J., Francs, K. (1985). The Development of a Rasch-Type loneliness scale. Applied Psychological Measurement, 9(3), 289-99.

Employment and Social Development Canada. (2018). Social isolation of seniors - A Focus on New Immigrant and Refugee Seniors in Canada.

ReferencesHall, M., Havens, B., Jivan, T., Sylvestre, G. (2004). Social Isolation and Loneliness: Differences between Older Rural and Urban Manitobans. Canadian Journal on Aging, 129

Jopling, K. (2015). Promising Approaches to Reducing Loneliness and Isolation in Later Life. Age UK, 1-68.

Krieger, J. L., Nussbaum, J. F., Pitts, M. J. (2005) Find the Right Place: Social interaction and Life Transitions Among the Elderly. In Health Communication in Practice: A Case Study Approach (Routledge Communication Series, pp. 233-242). Routledge

Nicholson, N. (2009). Social isolation in older adults: An evolutionary concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65, 1342-1352

ReferencesSchumacher, K. L., Jones, P. S., & Meleis, A. I. (1999). Helping elderly persons in transition: A framework for research and practice. In E. A. Swanson & T. Tripp-Reimer (Eds.), Life transitions in the older adult: Issues for nurses and other health professionals (pp. 1-26). New York: Springer.

Schut, H., Stroebe, M., Stroebe, W. (2007). Health outcomes of bereavement. The Lancet, 370

The National Seniors Council. (2015-2016). Who’s at risk and what can be done about it? A review of the literature on the social isolation of different groups of seniors, 15-17

Victor, C. R. (2012). Loneliness in Care Homes: A Neglected Area of Research. Aging Health, 637-46.

This project was conducted from 2015-19. The research team made every effort

to ensure information was accurate as of the time of publication, but please be

aware that some of the information may have changed or may be out of date if

accessed in the years following that. The inclusion of any agency or service in

this toolkit does not constitute an endorsement of the service.

This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research

Council of Canada.

Note

This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.