Getting Together Project: Promotion of wellbeing amongst isolated older adults in deprived urban and rural areas
Pauline Banks
Professor Older Persons’ Health, University of the West of Scotland
Project summary
Six volunteers were paired with older people aged 62 to 82 in a rural and an urban part of Lanarkshire to provide one-to-one support and regular contact. Interviews before and after the project demonstrated that the participants had increased confidence and felt less isolated, and that the volunteers also valued their involvement in the programme.
Project Dates
Start Date:1/2/2010
End Date:1/4/2011
Location of project
Lanarkshire,
Sector
Local Authority, Voluntary sector
Target groups
Older people,
Methods
One-to-one support by volunteers
Aims and objectives
Although many people are now living longer and healthier lives, research shows that loneliness is a common problem. Volunteering has been harnessed successfully to support a range of individuals at risk of isolation including disabled children and people with learning disability.
This exploratory study, led by the University of the West of Scotland and NHS Lanarkshire Older Persons’ Managed Care network, was designed to assess the potential of using a variety of ways to identify and support isolated older people in the community. We wanted to reduce loneliness and promote self-care and social inclusion, and to enable isolated older people to gain confidence and be able to participate in activities on their own.
The aim of the Getting Together project was to determine whether the quality of life of isolated older people (aged 60+) living in the community could be improved through working with older volunteers (aged 50+) to promote social inclusion and greater independence.
This exploratory study, led by the University of the West of Scotland and NHS Lanarkshire Older Persons’ Managed Care network, was designed to assess the potential of using a variety of ways to identify and support isolated older people in the community. We wanted to reduce loneliness and promote self-care and social inclusion, and to enable isolated older people to gain confidence and be able to participate in activities on their own.
The aim of the Getting Together project was to determine whether the quality of life of isolated older people (aged 60+) living in the community could be improved through working with older volunteers (aged 50+) to promote social inclusion and greater independence.
What we did
We consulted widely with voluntary groups, the NHS, and local authorities in the development of the proposal.
The Project Coordinator visited a range of community groups, churches, voluntary organisations, GP practices, chemists in an attempt to identify both isolated older people and volunteers who would be willing to support them. The most successful method of reaching people was found to be information printed on prescription slips.
The original plan was that approximately ten older people in two pilot sites would be matched with a volunteer. Following an initial visit which would allow the project participants to develop rapport and negotiate the timing and nature of future contact based on the needs/wishes of the older person, it was anticipated that the volunteers would interact with their allocated participant on a regular basis over a period of six months.
Volunteers fulfilled two roles, volunteer and research participant. An initial seven week training programme was developed for volunteers to ensure that they were able to fulfil their role within the project. Topics included: Qualities and Communication, Equality and Diversity, Mental Health, Loss and Bereavement, Issues affecting older adults, Practical issues, and Research methods.
A member of the research team carried out one-to-one interviews with volunteers on joining the project, and with both volunteers and older people once they had worked together. In order to include an objective measure of health and wellbeing, the volunteers were asked to complete the SF-36 General Health Questionnaire, and the older people completed the Philadelphia Geriatric Center (PGC) Morale Scale.
A feedback event was held at the end of the project to which volunteers, participants, members of the steering group, and all organisations or individuals contacted throughout the project were invited.
The Project Coordinator visited a range of community groups, churches, voluntary organisations, GP practices, chemists in an attempt to identify both isolated older people and volunteers who would be willing to support them. The most successful method of reaching people was found to be information printed on prescription slips.
The original plan was that approximately ten older people in two pilot sites would be matched with a volunteer. Following an initial visit which would allow the project participants to develop rapport and negotiate the timing and nature of future contact based on the needs/wishes of the older person, it was anticipated that the volunteers would interact with their allocated participant on a regular basis over a period of six months.
Volunteers fulfilled two roles, volunteer and research participant. An initial seven week training programme was developed for volunteers to ensure that they were able to fulfil their role within the project. Topics included: Qualities and Communication, Equality and Diversity, Mental Health, Loss and Bereavement, Issues affecting older adults, Practical issues, and Research methods.
A member of the research team carried out one-to-one interviews with volunteers on joining the project, and with both volunteers and older people once they had worked together. In order to include an objective measure of health and wellbeing, the volunteers were asked to complete the SF-36 General Health Questionnaire, and the older people completed the Philadelphia Geriatric Center (PGC) Morale Scale.
A feedback event was held at the end of the project to which volunteers, participants, members of the steering group, and all organisations or individuals contacted throughout the project were invited.
Impact
Seven volunteers were recruited and trained, six of whom were matched with an older person. The knowledge that they gained will not only benefit the volunteers individually, but will also help their future volunteering roles and add to the social capital in their communities. Volunteers, ranging in age from 56 to 83, spoke of making friends, gaining confidence, and finding out what they wanted to do.
Most of the participants, who ranged in age from 62 to 82, were in contact with family members on a regular basis. Some received home support or were in regular contact with the NHS, and some were well known in local shops and spoke to their neighbours. Despite this, all of the older people reported at the start of the project that they felt lonely and wanted to do more with their lives, thus highlighting the difference between being alone and being lonely:
“It is quite lonely, I don’t see many people... since I got this depression I’m not able to do things I want to do, I’ve not got an interest in anything.”
“I hadn’t been out the door; I hadn’t been down the street for a year.”
At the end, participants were asked about being involved in the project and anything that should be changed:
“I think it has helped me. I look forward to [Volunteer’s] visits.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to go out if it hadn’t have been for [Volunteer].”
Volunteers also reported that they had benefitted from the social contact as well as the training:
“All the other volunteers... They’re all ‘sharers’ - they share their life with other people.”
“I think the best thing for me was when I go up [to see Participant]... she’s always waiting for me and happy to see me... I know that she looks forward to seeing me and we have lovely conversations and she’s got out all her photographs.”
“The training I thought was perfect... it gave me more understanding of what I was trying to do... it made me feel as if I was doing something worthwhile.”
Most of the participants, who ranged in age from 62 to 82, were in contact with family members on a regular basis. Some received home support or were in regular contact with the NHS, and some were well known in local shops and spoke to their neighbours. Despite this, all of the older people reported at the start of the project that they felt lonely and wanted to do more with their lives, thus highlighting the difference between being alone and being lonely:
“It is quite lonely, I don’t see many people... since I got this depression I’m not able to do things I want to do, I’ve not got an interest in anything.”
“I hadn’t been out the door; I hadn’t been down the street for a year.”
At the end, participants were asked about being involved in the project and anything that should be changed:
“I think it has helped me. I look forward to [Volunteer’s] visits.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to go out if it hadn’t have been for [Volunteer].”
Volunteers also reported that they had benefitted from the social contact as well as the training:
“All the other volunteers... They’re all ‘sharers’ - they share their life with other people.”
“I think the best thing for me was when I go up [to see Participant]... she’s always waiting for me and happy to see me... I know that she looks forward to seeing me and we have lovely conversations and she’s got out all her photographs.”
“The training I thought was perfect... it gave me more understanding of what I was trying to do... it made me feel as if I was doing something worthwhile.”
Evaluation
The project adopted the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle developed by Associates in Process Improvement (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2008) with a view to evaluating the initiative as it progressed. Such information relating to the process of the work undertaken is perhaps of greater importance than ‘outcomes’.
The project was funded for 12 months and were overly optimistic in the number of volunteers that we could recruit and train, and the number of isolated older people that we could identify and recruit. Having not intended to recruit directly through the NHS we found it necessary to do so, which drew attention to the role of GPs and other health professionals as gatekeepers.
All of the project participants required time to develop confidence, and it was apparent that a one-to-one relationship was beneficial. The volunteers were of a similar age to participants, and all had experienced life’s good times as well as difficult periods, allowing them to empathise with their matched participant while keeping the aim of moving forward in mind.
We had proposed that volunteers would meet with the older people over a six month period starting in autumn 2010. However, the Christmas holiday season, the unexpectedly harsh weather and some instances of illness among participants meant that the amount of contact was less than had been hoped.
All participants knew that this was a time-bound project from the start. Some volunteers have continued to see the older people that they were paired with after the end of the project.
The project was funded for 12 months and were overly optimistic in the number of volunteers that we could recruit and train, and the number of isolated older people that we could identify and recruit. Having not intended to recruit directly through the NHS we found it necessary to do so, which drew attention to the role of GPs and other health professionals as gatekeepers.
All of the project participants required time to develop confidence, and it was apparent that a one-to-one relationship was beneficial. The volunteers were of a similar age to participants, and all had experienced life’s good times as well as difficult periods, allowing them to empathise with their matched participant while keeping the aim of moving forward in mind.
We had proposed that volunteers would meet with the older people over a six month period starting in autumn 2010. However, the Christmas holiday season, the unexpectedly harsh weather and some instances of illness among participants meant that the amount of contact was less than had been hoped.
All participants knew that this was a time-bound project from the start. Some volunteers have continued to see the older people that they were paired with after the end of the project.
Additional Project Documents
Getting Together Project Executive Summary
(263.20 KB)