***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: AIM This paper is a report of a study to explore the effects of psychosocial group nursing intervention on older people 's feelings of loneliness , social activity and psychological well-being . BACKGROUND Older people 's loneliness is associated with low quality of life , and impaired health , increased use of health and social services and increased mortality . Previous intervention studies have achieved quite modest results . METHOD A r and omized controlled trial was conducted between 2003 and 2006 using a group intervention aim ed at empowering older people , and promoting peer support and social integration .  A total of 235 people ( > 74 years ) suffering from loneliness met 12 times with professional leaders in groups . The UCLA Loneliness Scale and Lubben 's Social Network Scale were used at entry , after 3 and 6 months . Psychological well-being was charted using a six-dimensional question naire at baseline and 12 months later . FINDINGS A statistically significantly larger proportion of intervention group participants had found new friends during the follow-up year ( 45 % vs. 32 % , P = 0.048 ) , and 40 % of intervention group participants continued their group meetings for 1 year . However , no differences were found in loneliness or social networks between the groups . Psychological well-being score improved statistically significantly in the intervention groups [ + 0.11 , 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) : + 0.04 to + 0.13 ] , compared with the controls ( + 0.01 , 95 % CI : -0.05 to + 0.07 , P = 0.045 ) . Feeling needed was statistically significantly more common in the intervention groups ( 66 % ) than in controls ( 49 % , P = 0.019 ) . CONCLUSION New sensitive measurements of loneliness and social isolation are needed to measure fluctuations in feelings of loneliness and in social isolation BACKGROUND Animal-assisted therapy ( AAT ) is cl aim ed to have a variety of benefits , but almost all published results are anecdotal . We characterized the resident population in long-term care facilities desiring AAT  and determined whether AAT can objective ly improve loneliness . METHODS Of 62 residents , 45 met inclusion criteria for the study . These 45 residents were administered the Demographic and Pet History Question naire ( DPHQ ) and Version 3 of the UCLA Loneliness Scale ( UCLA-LS ) . They were then r and omized into three groups ( no AAT ; AAT once/week ; AAT three times/week ; n = 15/group ) and retested with the UCLA-LS near the end of the 6-week study . RESULTS Use of the DPHQ showed residents volunteering for the study had a strong life-history of emotional intimacy with pets and wished that they currently had a pet . AAT was shown by analysis of covariance followed by pairwise comparison to have significantly reduced loneliness scores in comparison with the no AAT group . CONCLUSIONS The desire for AAT strongly correlates with previous pet ownership . AAT reduces loneliness in residents of long-term care facilities Background Social isolation affects a significant proportion of older people and is associated with poor health outcomes . The current evidence base regarding the effectiveness of interventions targeting social isolation is poor , and the potential utility of mentoring for this purpose has not previously been rigorously evaluated . The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a community-based mentoring service for improving mental health , social engagement and physical health for socially isolated older people . Methods This prospect i ve controlled trial compared a sample of  mentoring service clients ( intervention group )  with a matched control group  recruited through general practice . One hundred and ninety five participants from each group were matched on mental wellbeing and social activity scores . Assessment s were conducted at baseline and at six month follow-up . The primary outcome was the Short Form Health Survey v2 ( SF-12 ) mental health component score ( MCS ) . Secondary outcomes included the SF-12 physical health component score ( PCS ) , EuroQol EQ-5D , Geriatric Depression Score ( GDS-10 ) , social activity , social support and morbidities . Results We found no evidence that mentoring was beneficial across a wide range of participant outcomes measuring health status , social activity and depression . No statistically significant between-group differences were observed at follow-up in the primary outcome ( p = 0.48 ) and in most secondary outcomes . Identifying suitable matched pairs of intervention and control group participants proved challenging . Conclusions The results of this trial provide no substantial evidence supporting the use of community mentoring as an effective means of alleviating social isolation in older people . Further evidence is needed on the effectiveness of community-based interventions targeting social isolation . When using non-r and omised design s , there are considerable challenges in the recruitment of suitable matches from a community sample .Trial registration SCIE Research Register for Social Care OBJECTIVE The impact of depression and perceived loneliness in the oldest old is largely unknown . The authors studied the relationship between the presence of depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality in old age , especially the potential distorting effect of perceived loneliness . METHOD Within a prospect i ve population -based study of 85-year-olds , the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale and the Loneliness Scale were annually applied in all 476 participants with a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 18 points or more . RESULTS Depression was present in 23 % and associated with marital state , institutionalization , and perceived loneliness . When depression and perceived loneliness were assessed during follow-up , neither depression nor perceived loneliness had a significant effect on mortality . However , those who suffered from both depression and feelings of loneliness had a 2.1 times higher mortality risk . CONCLUSIONS The data suggest that the increased mortality risk attributable to depression in the presence of perceived loneliness may result from motivational depletion In the present r and omized controlled trial ( RCT ) it was investigated whether single women , 55 years of age and older , improved with regard to self-management ability , well-being , and social and emotional loneliness  after having participated in a newly design ed self-management group intervention based on the Self-Management of Well-being ( SMW ) theory . The expected mediating effect of self-management ability on well-being was not found . Although self-management ability , well-being and loneliness improved significantly in the intervention group immediately after the intervention , and also remained at this improved level after six months , there was also improvement in the control group after six months , rendering the longer-term differences between the groups non-significant . It can , however , be concluded that , although the longer-term effectiveness could not be proven , this SMW theory-based intervention seems to be useful in supporting older women to improve their self-management ability and well-being The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence and self-reported causes of loneliness among Finnish older population . The data were collected with a postal question naire  from a r and om sample of 6,786 elderly people ( > or=75 years of age ) . The response rate was 71.8 % from community-dwelling sample . Of the respondents , 39 % suffered from loneliness , 5 % often or always . Loneliness was more common among rural elderly people than those living in cities . It was associated with advancing age , living alone or in a residential home , widowhood , low level of education and poor income . In addition , poor health status , poor functional status , poor vision and loss of hearing increased the prevalence of loneliness . The most common subjective causes for loneliness were illnesses , death of a spouse and lack of friends . Loneliness seems to derive from societal life changes as well as from natural life events and hardships originating from aging Background : Seniors aged 75 and above have the highest suicide rates of all age groups in most industrialized countries . However , research concerning risk factors for suicide in the old elderly is sparse . Objective : The purpose was to determine predictors for suicide among the old elderly ( 75 + ) . Data concerning the young elderly ( 65–74 years ) are shown for comparison . Methods : 85 consecutive cases of suicide that occurred in western Sweden and 153 control persons with the same sex , birth year , and zip code as the suicide cases were r and omly selected from the tax register . The old elderly group included 38 cases and 71 controls ; the young elderly group included 47 cases and 82 controls . Data concerning the suicide cases were collected through interviews with close informants ; controls were interviewed in person . The interview included questions on past-year life events and mental and physical health . Medical records were review ed for cases and controls . The Cumulative Illness Rating Scale – Geriatrics was used to rate illness burden . Results : Family conflict , serious physical illness , loneliness , and both major and minor depressions were associated with suicide in the 75 + group . Economic problems predicted suicide in the younger but not in the older elderly . Old elderly suicide victims with depression ( major or minor ) were less likely to have received depression treatment than their younger counterparts . Conclusions : Better recognition and treatment of both major and minor depression should constitute an important target for the prevention of suicide in the old elderly . Intervention studies with large numbers of senior participants are sorely needed Objective : The objective of this trial , the Leiden 85-Plus Occupational Therapy Intervention Study ( LOTIS ) , was to assess whether unsolicited occupational therapy , as compared to no therapy , can decelerate the increase in disability in high-risk elderly people . Design : This was a r and omised controlled trial with 2-y follow-up . Setting : The study took place in the municipality of Leiden in the Netherl and s. Participants : The participants were 402 community-dwelling 85-y-old people , with a Mini-Mental State Examination score of > 18 points at baseline . Interventions : Participants in the intervention group were visited by an occupational therapist who provided training and education about assistive devices that were already present and who gave recommendations and information about procedures , possibilities , and costs of assistive devices and community-based services . Control participants were not visited by an occupational therapist . Outcome Measures : The primary outcome measure was the score achieved on the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale . Secondary outcome measures included self-evaluations of well-being and feelings of loneliness . Results : The participants were evenly divided between the two groups : 202 participants were allocated to the intervention group and 200 participants to the control group . Of the 202 participants r and omised to occupational therapy , 55 participants declined the proposed intervention . An occupational therapist indicated that of the remaining 147 participants , 66 ( 45 % ) needed an occupational therapy intervention . A total of 44 new assistive devices and five community-based services were implemented . During follow-up there was a progressive increase in disability in the intervention group ( mean annual increase , 2.0 points ; SE 0.2 ; p < 0.001 ) and control group ( mean annual increase , 2.1 points ; SE 0.2 ; p < 0.001 ) . The increase in disability was not significantly different between study groups ( 0.08 points ; 95 % CI , −1.1–1.2 ; p = 0.75 ) . There was also no difference between study groups for any of the secondary outcome measures . Conclusion : Unsolicited occupational therapy in high-risk elderly participants does not decelerate the increase in disability over time Objectives : This study examined relations between social isolation , loneliness , and social support to health outcomes in a sample of New Mexico seniors . Method : We used r and om-digit dialing to obtain a r and om sample of 755 southern New Mexico seniors . Participants answered questions pertaining to demographics , social isolation and loneliness , social support , and disease diagnosis including diabetes , hypertension , heart disease , liver disease , arthritis , emphysema , tuberculosis , kidney disease , cancer , asthma , and stroke . The sample allowed for comparison of Caucasian and Hispanic participants . Results : Correlational and logistic analyses indicated that belongingness support related most consistently to health outcomes . Ethnic subgroup analysis revealed similarities and differences in the pattern of associations among the predictor and outcome variables . Discussion : The results demonstrate the importance of social variables for predicting disease outcomes in the elderly and across ethnic groups Seniors are most vulnerable to conjugal bereavement . Although social support buffers the effects of bereavement , widows and widowers have lower levels of social support than married individuals .  Self-help/support groups can supplement support from their depleted natural networks . Accordingly , the aim of this demonstration project was to examine the impact of support groups on widowed seniors '  loneliness , affect , and perceived support .  Four face-to-face support groups for  widowed seniors were conducted weekly for a maximum of 20 weeks . Participants completed pretest , posttest , and delayed posttest measures of support need and support satisfaction , positive and negative affect , and loneliness/isolation . The statistically significant impacts of the intervention were enhanced support satisfaction , diminished support needs , and increased positive affect . There was a trend toward decreased social isolation and emotional loneliness . In postintervention semistructured interviews , bereaved seniors reported increased hope , improved skills in developing social relationships , enhanced coping , new role identities , and less loneliness . Community health nurse research ers could conduct r and omized controlled trials of face-to-face and telephone support groups for bereaved people of all ages . Community health nurse practitioners could benefit from lessons learned about timing , duration , and selection of sensitive outcomes Background : Emotional loneliness and social isolation are major problems in old age . These concepts are interrelated and often used interchangeably , but few studies have investigated them simultaneously thus trying to clarify their relationship . Objectives : To describe the prevalence of loneliness among aged Finns and to study the relationship of loneliness with the frequency of social contacts , with older people ’s expectations and satisfaction of their human relationships . Especially , we wanted to clarify whether emotional loneliness is a separate concept from social isolation . Methods : The data were collected with a postal question naire . Background information , feelings of loneliness , 
    Output:
    
The findings suggest that it is possible to reduce loneliness by using educational interventions focused on social networks maintenance and enhancement .
Multiple approaches show promise , although flawed design often prevents proper evaluation of efficacy .