Initiatives to reduce isolation 1

Ø  Supporting transportation initiatives

It is important that all levels of government support and develop transportation accessibility initiatives targeted to seniors. If we increase the availability of transportation alternatives to seniors, particularly rural seniors, we can reduce isolation and loneliness. Many rural seniors have farther to travel for based health and social services, and whose transportation difficulties may be exacerbated by adverse weather and road conditions. Lower-income seniors, who have recently given up driving and are unaware of alternatives, may also need help with transportation

 Ø  Exploring remote communications as tools to reduce isolation

It is important to explore the options for service delivery presented by new technology. Contact through telephone and email is a way for seniors to get social support. Internet use is on the rise by seniors, and that almost every household in Canada has a telephone, these modes of communication are tools for maintaining beneficial connections between isolated seniors and their social networks or service providers.

 Ø  Increasing community awareness of services for seniors

If services are not promoted properly, they may not be used as intended. It is important to improve information about available supports for seniors to the community at large.

We have found in our research that many of our seniors who are willing to use a service often find out about it very late, because of lack of awareness of what is available in the community. There is also research findings showing that a low volume of social service utilization by elderly people, especially low-income minorities, was found to be due more to lack of knowledge, perceived availability (or unavailability) of social services, and restricted access, then to the abundance of informal support.

Now is the time for some humour

I spent a fortune on deodorant before I realized that people didn't like me anyway. 

Why do people say they "work like a dog"? Our dog just sits

around all day.

Are You Too Old to Drive? (Not to be confused with - Are you old enough to drive?)
-- Do you think the new Cadillacs are too small?
-- Do your hands always stay on the sides of the steering wheel, even when you're turning a corner?
-- Does it take you more than four minutes to get out of your car?
-- When you parallel park, do you just back up until you hear something?
-- Does it scare you to get your car up to the speed limit?
-- Have you passed another vehicle in the last three years?
-- Do you use cruise control because your leg fell asleep?
-- Did you try to buy a motor home with a prescription windshield?
-- In the last six months, have you checked to see if your turn signal is on?
-- Does your bumper sticker mention, Reagan?
-- When the police pull you over, are they amazed to find out you're
sober?
-- Do all police officers look about the same age as your grandkids (or great-grandkids)?



I watched an ant climb a blade of grass this morning. When he reached the top, his weight bent the blade down to the ground. Then, twisting his thorax with insectile precision, he grabbed hold of the next blade.
In this manner, he travelled across the lawn, covering as much distance vertically as he did horizontally, which amused and delighted me. And then, all at once, I had what is sometimes called an "epiphany", a moment of heightened awareness in which everything becomes clear. 
Yes, hunched over that ant on my hands and knees, I suddenly knew what I had to do... Quit drinking before noon.

Two overweight middle-aged men are on their daily exercise stroll.
They were talking about how hard it is to lose weight as one gets older, something with which all you youths must deal eventually. One man complained that he remained an 'apple-shape' and the other said that no matter how much he exercised, there was too much poundage on his backside and thighs. It almost seemed like it was there to stay. His buddy agreed, saying, "It's true.  The lard works in mysterious ways."

A conclusion is a place where you got tired of thinking.

Intervention programs aimed at reducing social isolation

I have been serving on a committee that is focused on reducing isolation and loneliness in my town. The work is slow and difficult but very rewarding. There are many groups addressing this issue in the larger community and they all believe they are doing a good job. One of the issues that I found interesting was the idea that our group would steal funding from them. Dealing with seniors is a very competitive business as the government talks about how much it wants to solve the problem but it does not put any money into solutions. Or if it does the government makes the charity groups fight each other for the few dollars they give out, which is in my mind, counterproductive. 

What I did find out is that the most common type of program aimed at reducing social isolation and loneliness found in my community was a type of peer (volunteer) helping/ visiting outreach model. Several examples of these types of programs are ones that involve peer support groups and programs that recruit seniors to volunteer with other populations such as children. 

While our group is moving forward albeit slowly we realize that when we are planning interventions for socially isolated and lonely seniors a good understanding of the target group, or of an individual’s need for acceptance and social support is necessary before employing we suggest interventions.  I believe that feeling supported is, in fact, an outcome the caring interpersonal transactions among individuals who trust each other and that is seen in the successful interventions we have looked at since we started back in July.

Isolation and loneliness during the Xmas season

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat... goes an old English rhyme. Well it is coming and this time of the year for many is joyous and a time of celebration with family, for many it is a time of heartbreak and loneliness and social isolation.

The concept of social isolation is complex and overlaps with other associated ideas such as loneliness, social vulnerability, social inclusion and exclusion, social connectedness, and social capital. 

Social isolation is commonly defined as a low quantity and quality of contact with others and includes the number of contacts, feeling of belonging, fulfilling relationships, engagement with others, and quality of network members.d

Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey, which was a large-scale study with a range of social isolation indicators, provide an overall sense of the magnitude of the problem. The study found that:

• 16% of seniors felt isolated from others often or some of the time.
• 6% of seniors reported spending little or no time with someone with whom they could complete enjoyable activities.
• 5% indicated having someone to listen to them none or little of the time.
• More than 8% reported having someone to receive advice about a crisis none or little of the time.
• 3.9% of seniors reported having someone who shows love and affection to them none or little of the time.
• 6% reported having someone to do something enjoyable with none or little of the time.
• 6% reported never or not often participating in activities with family and friends.
• 17.3% reported feeling excluded often or some of the time.

These findings suggest that a significant portion of seniors experience social isolation in a variety of different ways. Preliminary results from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) support these findings

The research has identified 9 risk factors are embedded within several overarching social contexts, including ageism, discrimination, limited access to resources and services, and marginalization. These risks factors are:

1.  Age and gender: being 80 or older; being a woman (since women, on average, live longer).

2. Ethnicity: being an immigrant (specifically, having a different cultural and linguistic background from the general Canadian population or community in which you live); being from an official language minority community.

3. Geography: living in a rural or remote area where service provision and distance between individuals and families is less proximate; living in a deprived neighbourhood; living in a community where there has been a loss of community or neighbourhood values; living in a low-density neighbourhood.

4. Health and disability: having health issues (mental and/or physical) including having multiple chronic health problems (e.g., vision, hearing, incontinence, speech/cognitive impairment); lifelong health problems or late-onset or age-related condition such as incontinence; mental illness (e.g., dementia, depression); stigma associated with mental illness, poor health or a disability; low access to health care; minimal walking time; poor perception of one’s own health.

5. Knowledge and awareness: challenges relating to technology (costs, literacy, comfort); lack of information on services; lack of awareness or access to community services and programs

6. Life transitions: loss of a spouse; loss of sense of community; disruption of social networks; lack of family and friend supports; loss or restriction of drivers’ license; entry into care; caregiving and associated factors (intensity of care-giving, low levels of care satisfaction, inability to leave the care recipient alone); divorce; living in a nursing home.

7. Poverty and lack of access to resources: lack of affordable housing and care options; living with low income; lacking access to transportation (no license or public bus system); financial dependence; living in a deprived neighbourhood (also considered a geography factor – see above).

8. Sexual and gender identity: being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered (LGBT); a history of discrimination; having a weak primary social network; lack of social recognition; discrimination in the health-care system; fear of coming out in older age.

9. Social relationships: low quality of relationships; having no children or contact with family; living alone (greater likelihood among women, gay men and lesbians); not being married or common-lawed; loss of friends and social network; experiencing ageism.

In general, there is sufficient evidence to identify several common characteristics of successful interventions – such as involving seniors in the planning, implementation and evaluation stages – as well as different types of interventions, from group activities to educational phone chats.

Training programs for frontline workers delivering programs is essential, as well as adequate resources. More generally, socially-isolated seniors could benefit from increased efforts to raise awareness of the underlying causes of isolation and to fight ageism. These are not easy issues to resolve, and addressing social isolation will require not only the coordinated and concerted action of multiple stakeholders but also increased understanding of the importance of this issue among the Canadian public. 

At this time of year, if you know of a person who is isolated or who may be lonely, reach out and share. This is the season of giving after all.