COVID-19 pandemic partnership between medical students and isolated elders improves student understanding of older adults' lived experience.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Evidence supports loneliness and social isolation as a strong risk factor for poor mental and physical health outcomes for older adults. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated older adults isolate themselves for a prolonged duration. The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto established the Student-Senior Isolation Prevention Partnership (SSIPP), a volunteer program involving telephone calls between medical students and older adults.

Methods

A mixed methods pre-post study design included collecting quantitative data from older adults using the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. The study included 29 medical students and 47 older adults. The medical students filled out a questionnaire on self-perceived knowledge of socia

SUBMITTER: Moonen G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9344259 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature