Loneliness Among Elderly People in Nursing Homes

The aim of this thesis was to find out measures to alleviate loneliness among elderly people in nursing homes. The goal of this research is to help caregivers and health care institutions to reduce loneliness among the elderly, thereby mitigating mental health issues among the elderly. This work was conducted by Seinäjoki university of Applied Sciences (SeAMK). Data collection method and analysis were obtained using review literature and inductive content analysis of search materials. Articles were searched from reliable data bases like Academic search elite, CINAHL complete, PubMed, Sage, and credible sources, such as google scholar. Information was gotten using search terms like loneliness, elderly, prevention, nurses’ role, nursing home. A total of ten articles were selected for literature review and analysis based on inclusion and exclusion criteria with publications between 2010 and 2020. Findings suggested that loneliness can be alleviated through group-based activities and one on one meetings with elderly people, social support network, staying connected with family and friends, reciprocal follow up. Moreover, nurse’s education and commitment couple with patients’ engagement is an important ingredient to provide client centred care. However, there is the need to investigate the criteria on implementing and executing the interventions, because loneliness is a subjective experience. It, therefore, poses constraints in evaluating the level and specific needs of the elderly to reach the interventions