蘑菇短视频

蘑菇短视频 School of Nursing faculty members April Messer and Angie Trombley recently received a $10,000 grant from the Daisy Foundation to conduct a project titled 鈥淣urse-Led Social Connection for Rural Elder Adults.鈥�

April Messer

Their research will facilitate social connection groups with elder adults, obtaining valuable data on how loneliness affects them.

This project was a long time in the making. Messer has been a nurse in critical care environments for most of her career. She has an RN, is a licensed psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, and completed her PhD on the experiences of acute care nurses treating patients with substance use disorders. It was early in her career when she noticed that nurses weren鈥檛 always well equipped to deal with certain issues. When treating patients for substance abuse, mental health, and elder patients, loneliness would often arise as a secondary symptom of their isolation and struggles. This is what led her to pilot a study on social connection in elder adults.

The project will seek to gather data on loneliness in elder adults through facilitated social groups. Prior to the social groups, participants will take a survey using questions from the UCLA Loneliness Scale.

This survey asks a series of questions such as 鈥淚 am unhappy doing things alone,鈥� or 鈥淚 feel like I have no one to talk to.鈥� The scale allows for the nuances between respondents who may have a preference for solitude, differentiating between being alone and lonely. Each response is assigned a numerical value, and the higher someone scores on the scale, the lonelier they feel.

After completing these surveys, Messer and her students will help facilitate social groups, which will allow participants the space to discuss their struggles with social isolation.

鈥淚t's really just a group of elders coming together to discuss social connection while they're socially connecting,鈥� Messer said.

Angie Trombley

Participants will then retake the questionnaire later in the study. The goal is to find out who benefits the most from these facilitated conversations.

Messer will then analyze the results and look for trends, seeing who experiences the most positive changes and how that is affected by variables between rural populations, like Jackson County, versus more metropolitan areas, like Asheville.

Although loneliness may disproportionately affect elder adults, it affects as many as one in every two Americans. In 2023 it was declared a public health emergency by the U.S. Surgeon General, and that comes with serious health risks. The increased risk in dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death is similar to the health risks posed by smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Messer intends to share the study鈥檚 findings through publications, conference presentations, and the classroom.

鈥淚f it really makes a difference in loneliness and depression, I would like to share that information with others and potentially expand the project to benefit some other group homes or nursing facilities,鈥� she said.

The project could provide valuable information on individuals going through periods of social isolation. At the same time, the discussion groups can provide training and preparedness for nursing students on how to approach loneliness within patients.

Nurses and care providers in healthcare facilities often already facilitate discussions among patients. In the aftermath of Covid and in an era where social media replaces the many of the daily social interactions, it is even more important for healthcare workers and facilities to be well-equipped to deal with loneliness.

鈥淭he biggest thing is does this intervention help people?鈥� Messer said. 鈥淭hat's really what I would like to see.鈥�