Loneliness
Conditions
Keywords
loneliness, geriatric, functional analytic psychotherapy
Brief summary
The goal of this pilot study is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a group loneliness intervention in geriatric psychiatry inpatients. This type of group loneliness intervention is based on functional analytic psychotherapy and is called Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups.
Detailed description
The objective of our clinical trial is to adapt, implement, and evaluate a type of loneliness group intervention called Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups for older adults in a psychiatric unit. The following research questions will be answered: (a) Are ACL groups with geriatric psychiatry inpatients feasible and acceptable? (b) Do such ACL groups demonstrate preliminary efficacy?
Interventions
BEHAVIORALAwareness, Courage, and Love Groups
Groups based on the Awareness, Courage, and Love framework from functional analytic psychotherapy
OTHERMutual Help Meetings
Groups based on treatment as usual where patients gather to discuss how they can help others on the ward, and make requests for how others can help them.
Sponsors
Western University, Canada
London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
60 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Admission to geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit
Exclusion criteria
* Individuals who are disoriented to person, delirious, unable to tolerate or participate meaningfully in the group, or otherwise unable to provide consent to research and psychotherapy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale (IOS) | Up to 2 months | Brief single-item pictorial measure of social closeness. The minimum value is 1, the maximum value is 7, and higher scores indicate a better outcome. |
| UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) | Up to 2 months | Brief measure of loneliness. The minimum value is 6, the maximum value is 24, and higher scores indicate a worse outcome. |
| Relational Health Indices (RHI) | Up to 2 months | Brief measure of group relational health. The minimum value is 8, the maximum value is 40, and higher scores indicate a better outcome. |
| Quantitative Program Satisfaction | Up to 2 months | Brief measure of program satisfaction. The minimum value is 0, the maximum value is 16, and higher scores indicate a better outcome. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale | Up to 2 months | 1 item pictorial scale of subjective wellbeing from 0 (minimum) to 10 (maximum). A higher score indicates a better outcome. |
| Sacred Moment Qualities (SMQ) | Up to 2 months | Brief measure of perceived sacred qualities, adapted from Pargament et al. (2014). The minimum value is 11, the maximum value is 55, and higher scores indicate a better outcome. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction Questionnaire | Up to 2 months | Brief open-ended questions about program satisfaction. Responses are qualitative. |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed