Mann R, Rabiee P, Birks Y, Wilberforce M
Journal of Long-term Care 2020: 167—173
Available online 2 Nov 2020
Context
Experience of loneliness amongst care home residents with sight loss is associated with limitations in activities of daily living, poor self-reported health, and increased rates of depression. Care homes are encouraged to use screening tools to identify those at risk of loneliness.
Objectives
The study aimed to describe the findings and experience of applying a validated, multi-item scale to identify loneliness and isolation in care home residents with sight loss in England, UK.
Methods
The six-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale was administered to residents residing in long-term care homes with sight loss. Participants were aged 65+ years old with vision impairment that could not be corrected by glasses. Descriptive analysis of loneliness scale data was undertaken supplemented with observational field notes of implementation challenges.
Findings
Only 42 applications of the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale were possible. The mean sub-scale scores for emotional loneliness, social loneliness and the mean overall loneliness score were 1.36 (sd = 1.16), 1.19 (sd = 1.04) and 2.55 (sd = 1.9) respectively. Challenges observed in scale administration and understanding of scale items by residents might preclude it as a loneliness case-identification tool in busy care home environments.
Limitations
The study reports on the challenges implementing a questionnaire which achieved a low rate of data collection.
Implications
For case-identification of loneliness, care homes may wish to consider use of a single-item loneliness question rather than multi-item scales due to variable length of administration and resident comprehension.
