Improving mental health and wellbeing in elderly people isolated at home due to architectural barriers
Objectives: To explore the health effects of a community health intervention on older people who are isolated at home due to mobility problems or architectural barriers, to identify associated characteristics and to assess participants' satisfaction. Design: Quasi-experimental before-after stud...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:269723 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/269723 https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.aprim.2021.102020 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Elderly Loneliness Social isolation Health outcomes Health inequalities Community health intervention Personas mayores Soledad Aislamiento social Resultados en salud Desigualdades en salud Intervención en salud comunitaria |
| Sumario: | Objectives: To explore the health effects of a community health intervention on older people who are isolated at home due to mobility problems or architectural barriers, to identify associated characteristics and to assess participants' satisfaction. Design: Quasi-experimental before-after study. Setting: Five low-income neighbourhoods of Barcelona during 2010-15. Participants: 147 participants, aged ≥59, living in isolation due to mobility problems or architectural barriers were interviewed before the intervention and after 6 months. Intervention: Primary Health Care teams, public health and social workers, and other community agents carried out a community health intervention, consisting of weekly outings, facilitated by volunteers. Measurements: We assessed self-rated health, mental health using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and quality of life through the EuroQol scale. Satisfaction with the programme was evaluated using a set of questions. We analysed pre and post data with McNemar tests and fitted lineal and Poisson regression models. Results: At 6 months, participants showed improvements in self-rated health and mental health and a reduction of anxiety. Improvements were greater among women, those who had not left home for ≥4 months, those with lower educational level, and those who had made ≥9 outings. Self-rated health [aRR: 1.29(1.04-1.62)] and mental health improvements [β: 2.92(1.64-4.2)] remained significant in the multivariate models. Mean satisfaction was 9.3 out of 10. Conclusion: This community health intervention appears to improve several health outcomes in isolated elderly people, especially among the most vulnerable groups. Replications of this type of intervention could work in similar contexts. |
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