get some back story.
social engagement is a healthy aging priority.
Reason # 1: Elder loneliness runs deep & wide. ➻ Time to take the lid off.
A feeling of deep aloneness is human at times, and this holds true as bodies, minds, and relationships change as we age.
Not on this scale, however:
1 of 4 older Americans 70+ is lonely
as of 2010 and 2018 surveys. And between those years, the older American cohort grew by several million.
Loneliness is commonly felt chronically (over a long time). Of older Americans,
3 in 10 older Americans are lonely for 1 to 5 years, 4 in 10 are lonely for 6+ years.
This pattern repeats internationally, especially in post-industrialized countries.
➻ Driven by research and calls for action, “aging” countries’ media to medical circles now talk about elder loneliness as an epidemic, with patterns in groups at risk.
Reason # 2: Elder loneliness harms health. ➻ Quality of life is at stake.
Loneliness takes a toll on body and mind. So, for older adults, there are some good reasons to call this an “epidemic.”
Studies increasingly find that loneliness worsens elder mental health by making depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and suicide more likely.
But loneliness can also have physical effects we might not see coming, like attacking motor control, immune cells’ ability to fight infection, cardiovascular function, and brain areas relating to Alzheimer’s disease.
Experts liken long-term loneliness to smoking 15 cigarettes every single day.
➻ Put simply, loneliness effects an older adults’ mental wellbeing, as well as ability to move, fend off infections, keep their hearts healthy, remember and relate. That is, quality of life.
Social engagement is a basic necessity. And like food, shelter, healthcare, it is too often unmet.
read on…
Elder loneliness and health covered well in the news: The New York Times, Washington Post, Time
Up-to-date reports on elder loneliness: National Poll on Healthy Aging, AARP, ACL
taking COVID-19 into account.
I start everyday reading at least two articles in national newspapers about loneliness facing confined young people, and confined older adults, too. Having checked in with some older adults featured in this project, and in my life, this is a lonely, stressful time.
But remember, for some that vulnerability was there before; A stay-at-home order feels a whole lot like everyday life. Only conversation of the day with your Meals on Wheels deliverer? Sounds like pre-pandemic, and, post-pandemic life, too. For others who were out of their homes, in their communities, engAging just as this project recommends, this time is destabilizing.
Assuringly, many are doing alright with the help of family, neighbors, the staff and volunteers of inventive community resources. If basic needs are met, some find more time for in-home creative and intellectual passions. To older adults reading this, I hope this is true for you.
got a helping hand? keep it simple.
Read up on older community members’ experiences.
If you’re healthy, deliver groceries. Make time to talk from 6 feet (+ a healthy few more) away. Or give blood.
If you’re staying indoors, give an older friend a call , or join a local group doing phone check-ins. Skip chatting about the news and ask for a story or advice. Maybe record it for StoryCorps, which is collecting pandemic stories nationwide.
Gatherings and photography displays in Lewiston, Maine were in the works for this project, now on hold.
A silver lining of an isolating pandemic:
We’re all paying more attention to loneliness— our own, of those we know, of strangers. Let’s use this as momentum to prioritize engAging long after the headlines lighten up.
Social engagement will still be a basic necessity, and will still be too often unmet.
need a helping hand due to COVID-19? head here.
Aunt Bertha database of social care opportunities available right where you live. This is a useful tool now and always.
Area agency on aging locator, to connect with a senior center and aging assistance (a real person) near you. In-person programs have of course been cancelled, but staff are still very much available.
The UnLonely Project’s Stuck At Home (Together) initiative, which harnesses creativity in its national campaign to end loneliness for all age groups. This campaign focuses on COVID-19.
AARP’s Connect2Affect, which offers a loneliness assessment, data, and many links to resources. The program has updated their resources in light of current heightened needs.
this project has goals.
create
space to see & hear older adults with varied lives share how they view their homes, bodies, minds, social roles.
link
loneliness roots and antidotes in the places we call home, suggesting group-specific tools for efficient change.
prompt
dialogue and action around challenges & joys of engAging at public events, home, work, community sites.
(older) experts weighed in.
project sources
This project is based on conversations with those affected by elder loneliness, and who tackle it daily: older adults.
I interviewed 15 older adults who live in Lewiston or a rural town within Androscoggin County, Maine.
+ All older adults interviewed are aging in place.
This means they live independently, or semi-independently with the help of caregivers or those they live with, in houses or apartments. The experiences of loneliness among older adults in nursing homes or assisted living facilities are not collected here, but ought not be overlooked on this topic. Work worthy of a whole other project.
+ Some describe themselves as lonely, others do not.
I wanted to speak with older adults across the spectrum, between lonely and engaged, because we can learn from all experiences. Despite attempts, I did not speak with older adults who describe themselves as deeply lonely because it is a challenge to contact them.
Older adults participants varied in gender, race, national origin, income, ability, and other axes of difference. In plain terms, that means:
+ About half are women, half are men.
None identified themselves as gender-nonconforming (neither male nor female), nor transgender. None shared that they have a sexual preference for people of the same sex or other non-heterosexual orientation, though the experiences of sexual minorities is certainly relevant.
+ Some are white, multi-generation Mainers.
They’ve lived in Maine for much, if not all, of their lives, and often their parents & grandparents did, too, after immigrating from Canada, Italy, Poland, and other mainly European countries. These participants are white.
+ Some are New Mainers of color.
They’ve arrived in Maine in their lifetime, in this case from Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazil, and Mexico. We spoke in English, Spanish, or, in one case, through a translator. Some are immigrants, some asylees, and others are US citizens. These participants are people of color.
+ Some are middle income, some lower.
Some participants live in subsidized housing, many in homes they own. A couple are still working, while most live on a fixed income. Participants were not asked to share exact figures, but rather made comments about finances at their own will.
+ Many have health complications, some more limiting.
Some had conditions effecting their lungs, hearts, mobility, and/or minds, not so serious as to make the person unable to consent to be part of this project. Though so important to speak with, no participants are homebound. Likewise, for ethical reasons, no participants have advanced cognitive conditions. However, many older adults and providers shared experiences with older adults who indeed face these challenges.
This project gathers perspectives of those whose work supports older adults at the local or state level: professionals.
I interviewed 20 healthcare providers, social service resources, organizations, and policymakers in Maine.
+ Many work locally and some statewide.
Most are based within Androscoggin County, while others are active elsewhere in the state. I wanted to hear local perspectives and get a pulse on state trends.
+ All represent “social infrastructure" for healthy aging.
“Social infrastructure” is a term for the places and programs that encourage us to interact with our fellow community members. To find social infrastructure engaging older adults in many areas of their lives, I had to think broadly.
Professional participants varied in how they support engAgement, be it through aging policy, education, services, programs, shared spaces.
+ Healthcare providers.
Chief of Geriatric Mental Health and Neuropsychiatry, Acadia Hospital in Bangor
Family Medicine Doctor based in Lewiston
Family Medicine Doctor specializing in geriatrics, palliative medicine, and hospice offering house calls, based in Dover-Foxcroft
Geriatric Nursing Student based in Lewiston
+ Social service, home health, and transport agencies.
Community Health Education Coordinator, SeniorsPlus in Lewiston
Community Services Supervisor, SeniorsPlus in Lewiston
Community Health Education coordinator, Southern Maine Agency on Aging of Greater Portland
Palliative Care Educator and Social Work Supervisor, Androscoggin Home Health & Hospice in Lewiston
Education and Community Paramedicine Manager, United Ambulance Services based in Lewiston
+ Faith, activist, and public organizations.
Program Director, New Mainers Public Health Initiative of Lewiston
Director, Vet to Vet Maine nonprofit based in Biddeford
Director, Lewiston Public Library
Member and Education Chair, Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights Organization of Maine
Hispanic Outreach Coordinator, Prince of Peace Parish of Lewiston
Deacon, Prince of Peace Parish of Lewiston
+ Researchers and educators.
Professor of Social Work and Director of University of Maine Center on Aging
Professor and Director of Geriatrics Education at the University of New England in Biddeford
Associate Executive Director, Daniel Hanley Center for Health Leadership based in South Portland
+ Aging policymakers and council leaders.
Aging Services Manager, Office of Aging and Disability Services for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services
Director of the Maine Council on Aging operating statewide
This project also includes snapshots of my field research in Chile.
+ I interviewed 14 older adults aging in place in the capital or rural commune outside of Temuco.
Participants were:
- Rural and city-dwelling;
- Men and women;
- Some married and some widowed or divorced;
- Identifying as white and Mapuche (the largest group of indigenous peoples in in Chile);
- Many lower income and some middle income.
+ And 5 local aging providers in Temuco.
Providers included:
- Mental Health Social Worker for the city and rural surroundings
- Nurse at an rural intercultural (biomedical and indigenous medicine) hospital
- Director of a municipal senior club (one exists in every municipality in Chile);
- Director of a state-funded Interdisciplinary Adult Day Center, focused on need-aware healthcare and, in particular, social engagement.