Citation

Hwang J, Wang L, Siever J, Medico TD, Jones CA. Aging Ment. Health 2019; 23(6): 736-742.

Affiliation

Faculty of Medicine, Southern Medical Program , University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus , Kelowna , British Columbia , Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13607863.2018.1450835

PMID

29543517

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Loneliness and social isolation (L&SI) are associated with physical and cognitive decline in older adults. Walk 'n' Talk for your Life (WTL) is a community-based program of socialization, health education, falls prevention exercise and walking for community-dwelling older adults. This qualitative study was done to gain further insight into the experience and impacts of the WTL on seniors' L&SI.

METHODS: One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen participants who had completed the WTL. Interview questions focused on eliciting a better understanding of how the WTL impacted participants' feelings of L&SI. Content analysis was used to classify the qualitative data.

RESULTS: This qualitative evaluation helped to obtain a richer understanding of WTL participants' reasons for loneliness and the benefits of the program on participants' experience of L&SI. Participants felt WTL helped motivate them to socialize and reduced their feelings of loneliness by providing a sense of 'belonging' which appeared to be mediated by the group exercise/walking component of the program.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight into participants' experiences of L&SI. Further research in a broader population of older adults is mandated to determine the efficacy of community exercise programs in reducing L&SI.

Language: en

Keywords

Loneliness; community exercise program; qualitative methods; social isolation