The Helping Older People Engage Project: Improving Social Well-Being in Later Life

Summary

Older adults who feel lonely carry increased risk for reduced quality of life, morbidity, and mortality. Volunteering is a promising intervention for reducing loneliness in later life. The primary objective of this proposal is to test the hypothesis that a social volunteering program for lonely older adults will lead to reduced loneliness and improved quality of life.

This study compares the effect of a Senior Corps volunteering intervention versus a self-guided life review active control condition on feelings of loneliness in older adults.

The study involves randomly assigning older adults (150 women, 150 men) who report loneliness to 12 months of either: 1) a structured social volunteering program, or 2) an active control intervention with self-guided life review. Specific aims are as follows: 1) To examine the effect of volunteering on loneliness and quality of life; 2) To examine social engagement, perceived usefulness, and social support as mechanisms for reducing loneliness; 3) To examine conditions under which volunteering is most effective at reducing loneliness.

Conditions

• Loneliness
• Quality of Life

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Volunteering

Volunteers provide non-medical caregiving for frail seniors-"care receivers"-to help them maintain their independence and improve their well-being. Friendly visiting is the primary service provided. Structured, intensive training is provided prior to placement. The target expectation is of interactions in person and/or by telephone for at least 16 hours per month. On-going training ("booster sessions") as well as volunteer support groups, and educational activities are provided. Participants not interested in serving as peer companions are allowed other volunteer options as long as the activities are deemed 'social' by the volunteer coordinator and are options routinely provided as part of the AmeriCorps Senior RSVP Program. COVID update: due to physical distancing requirements, volunteer placements have transitioned to remote friendly calling/letter writing or activities that can be conducted with physical distancing, such as delivery for Meals on Wheels.

BEHAVIORAL

Life Review

Subjects will complete a self-guided life review exercise over 12 months. Subjects will complete one section of the life review (with the self-help book) each month and send 'assignments' once per month to an email 'counselor' who will respond with supportive comments within three days.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Aging (NIA)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Rochester

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Kimberly A Van Orden, PhD · University of Rochester

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-01-01

Primary Completion

2023-05-15

Completion

2023-05-15

Countries

• United States

Study Locations