Feasibility of school students Skyping care home residents to reduce loneliness.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Intergenerational friendship has proved useful for older people in increasing socialisation. We explored the feasibility of school students Skyping older people in care homes with the long-term aim of reducing loneliness.

Methods

Six school students from one secondary school and twenty older people, including seven with mild to moderate dementia, from three care homes, engaged in Skype video-calls over six weeks. A conversational aid aimed to help school students maintain conversations was employed. Students and care staff completed feedback forms after each session on video-call usage, usefulness of the conversational aid, and barriers and benefits of video-calls. Six care staff provided further feedback on residents' experiences through unstructured interviews.

SUBMITTER: Zamir S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8262256 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan-Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature