@article{ref1,
title="Loneliness and social isolation among older adults in a community exercise program: a qualitative study",
journal="Aging and mental health",
year="2019",
author="Hwang, Jiyoung and Wang, Lisa and Siever, Jodi and Medico, Talia Del and Jones, Charlotte A.",
volume="23",
number="6",
pages="736-742",
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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1360-7863",
doi="10.1080/13607863.2018.1450835",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2018.1450835"
}