Lay cousellor-delivered wisdom-enhancement narrative-therapy and empathy-focused interventions to reduce loneliness among older adults: A three-arm randomized controlled trial.
{"title":"Lay cousellor-delivered wisdom-enhancement narrative-therapy and empathy-focused interventions to reduce loneliness among older adults: A three-arm randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Da Jiang, Vivien Foong Yee Tang, Esther Oi-Wah Chow, Maninder Kahlon, Dannii Yuen-Lan Yeung, Rhonda Aubrey, Jing Liao, Jing Yu, Phoenix Kit-Han Mo, Kee-Lee Chou","doi":"10.1016/j.inpsyc.2026.100299","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Given the high prevalence and substantial adverse effects of loneliness, scalable psychosocial interventions to alleviate loneliness among older adults must be rigorously evaluated. Existing interventions focus on addressing perceived weaknesses rather than leveraging older adults strengths to mitigate loneliness. The objective is to assess the 6 and 12 months efficacy of two telephone-based interventions-wisdom enhancement narrative therapy (Tele-NT) and an empathy-focused intervention (Tele-EP)-compared with an active control group (ACG) in reducing loneliness.</p><p><strong>Design and setting: </strong>In this one-year, three-arm, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial conducted in Hong Kong, participants were randomly assigned in equal groups to Tele-NT, Tele-EP, or ACG.</p><p><strong>Measures: </strong>Loneliness was assessed by the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS) and De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGL). Secondary outcomes were perceived social support, symptoms of depression, sleep quality, and social networks. Assessments were carried out prior to intervention and at 1, 6, and 12 months.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>A total of 287 were recruited (M<sub>age</sub>=76.16 years [SD=7.20]; 206 [71.8%] female) and randomly assigned to three groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Analyses were adjusted for age, marital status, years of education, and the baseline value of each outcome. For loneliness, no significant overall between-group differences were found on the UCLA-LS. However, Tele-NT significantly reduced overall loneliness on the DJGL at 6 and 12 months. Among the secondary outcomes, Tele-NT and Tele-EP significantly reduced emotional loneliness at 12 months, whereas Tele-NT significantly reduced social loneliness at 6 months and improved sleep quality at 12 months.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This RCT demonstrated that Tele-NT significantly alleviated feelings of loneliness at 6 and 12 months.</p><p><strong>Registration: </strong>ChiCTR2300070179, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry.</p>","PeriodicalId":14368,"journal":{"name":"International psychogeriatrics","volume":" ","pages":"100299"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0000,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International psychogeriatrics","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpsyc.2026.100299","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Given the high prevalence and substantial adverse effects of loneliness, scalable psychosocial interventions to alleviate loneliness among older adults must be rigorously evaluated. Existing interventions focus on addressing perceived weaknesses rather than leveraging older adults strengths to mitigate loneliness. The objective is to assess the 6 and 12 months efficacy of two telephone-based interventions-wisdom enhancement narrative therapy (Tele-NT) and an empathy-focused intervention (Tele-EP)-compared with an active control group (ACG) in reducing loneliness.
Design and setting: In this one-year, three-arm, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial conducted in Hong Kong, participants were randomly assigned in equal groups to Tele-NT, Tele-EP, or ACG.
Measures: Loneliness was assessed by the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS) and De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGL). Secondary outcomes were perceived social support, symptoms of depression, sleep quality, and social networks. Assessments were carried out prior to intervention and at 1, 6, and 12 months.
Participants: A total of 287 were recruited (Mage=76.16 years [SD=7.20]; 206 [71.8%] female) and randomly assigned to three groups.
Results: Analyses were adjusted for age, marital status, years of education, and the baseline value of each outcome. For loneliness, no significant overall between-group differences were found on the UCLA-LS. However, Tele-NT significantly reduced overall loneliness on the DJGL at 6 and 12 months. Among the secondary outcomes, Tele-NT and Tele-EP significantly reduced emotional loneliness at 12 months, whereas Tele-NT significantly reduced social loneliness at 6 months and improved sleep quality at 12 months.
Conclusions: This RCT demonstrated that Tele-NT significantly alleviated feelings of loneliness at 6 and 12 months.
Registration: ChiCTR2300070179, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry.
期刊介绍：
A highly respected, multidisciplinary journal, International Psychogeriatrics publishes high quality original research papers in the field of psychogeriatrics. The journal aims to be the leading peer reviewed journal dealing with all aspects of the mental health of older people throughout the world. Circulated to over 1,000 members of the International Psychogeriatric Association, International Psychogeriatrics also features important editorials, provocative debates, literature reviews, book reviews and letters to the editor.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
