Loneliness and its associated Factors in Community-living Elderly People who Use Day Care Services

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the degree of loneliness and its associated factors in elderly people who use day care services. Interviews were conducted using an interview schedule. A χ² test was performed to verify the independence of various factors associated with loneliness. Significant items were then used as independent variables in multiple logistic regression analysis with the presence or absence of loneliness as the dependent variables.

This study included 200 community-dwelling elderly people who used day care services [53 men (26.5%) and 147 women (73.5%)]. The respondents had a mean ± standard deviation score of 38.44 ± 9.43 on the loneliness scale. The results of the χ² test indicated that a significant number of elderly people in the “lonely group” were not socially active (p=0.010), lived in apartment complexes (p=0.036), or did not have hobbies (p=0.037). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that loneliness was significantly associated with social participation [odds ratio (OR): 0.148; 95％ confidence interval (CI): 0.03-0.66; p=0.012] and type of residence (OR: 0.464; 95% CI: 0.23-0.94; p=0.033).

The results demonstrated that loneliness in the elderly is clearly associated with their social participation and living situations as well as their hobbies and activities. These findings have important implications for understanding loneliness in community-living elderly people who use day care services.