Belitung Nursing Journal
Vol. 8 No. 3 (2022): May - June

Social environment support to overcome loneliness among older adults: A scoping review

Riksa Wibawa Resna (Department of Gerontology and Community, Program Study of Nursing Profession, School of Health Science Banten, Indonesia)
Widianti Widianti (Nursing Program, School of Health Science Banten, Indonesia)
Wahyu Nofiantoro (Department of Banking, Vocational Program, University of Indonesia, Indonesia)
Rachmayanti Iskandar (Nursing Program, School of Health Science Banten, Indonesia)
Dwi Meilina Ashbahna (Nursing Program, School of Health Science Banten, Indonesia)
Royani Royani (Nursing Program, School of Health Science Banten, Indonesia)
Susi Susilawati (Public Health Program, School of Health Science Banten, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
28 Jun 2022

Abstract

Background: Loneliness is a problem experienced by most older adults due to internal and external factors. This condition may lead to various physical and psychological health problems, including depression, sleep disturbances, stress, and suicidal ideation. Therefore, exploring social environment support to reduce loneliness is a necessity. Objective: This study aimed to identify various kinds of social support to overcome loneliness in older adults. Methods: A scoping review was performed on studies retrieved from Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, PubMed, and Google Scholar from 2012 until early 2022. Data were analyzed according to Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review guideline. Results: Ten studies were systematically selected from 2,410 articles. The analysis indicated that the social environment support, including family support (affection, attention, emotional, motivation, and financial support), friends (peer group, partnership, advice, and appreciation), neighbors (work around the house, society involvement, and emergency), and government support (healthcare facilities and community programs), contribute to loneliness in older adults. Conclusion: The social environment support from families, friends, neighbors, and government may potentially help older adults to reduce their loneliness but need further validation. The variables included in each component also need construct exploration. However, the study findings may serve as basic knowledge for nurses to provide interventions to prevent and reduce loneliness among older adults.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

bnj

Publisher

Subject

Nursing

Description

BNJ contributes to the advancement of evidence-based nursing, midwifery and healthcare by disseminating high quality research and scholarship of contemporary relevance and with potential to advance knowledge for practice, education, management or policy. BNJ welcomes submissions of evidence-based ...