Background
Establishing cost-effective informal care services for lonely older adults living at home in developing countries can be an innovative approach for improving their well-being. This study investigated the effectiveness of an informal home care support intervention program (HoSIP) reducing the loneliness and improving quality of life of lonely community-dwelling older adults.
Methods
This quasi-experimental pre-post study employed a non-randomized control group design with a 12-week intervention period and three follow-up points at the end of the HoSIP. Questionnaires were used to measure feelings of loneliness (20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale), quality of life (Control, Autonomy, Self‐Realization and Pleasure Scale), general health (12-item General Health Questionnaire), social network (six-item Lubben Social Network Scale), social support (12-item Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), and self-care ability (17-item Self-care Ability Scale for the Elderly). Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to gauge the effect of the intervention program over time and in comparison to the control group. Data analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics software (IBM Corp.).
Results
We found a significant relationship between the outcome variables, including feelings of loneliness (P<0.001) and quality of life (P<0.001), at different stages of measurement. Despite the positive feasibility results, the implementation of the HoSIP faced challenges due to a lack of facilities (e.g., place restriction for holding educational classes, educational facilities like computers, video projector, and whiteboard at daycare center) and the absence of supporting organizations.
Conclusion
Utilizing the existing capabilities of older adults to provide online and face-to-face care services can be a cost-effective way to improve their quality of life and reduce loneliness. The process of facilitating such informal care services for lonely older adults should be managed by either governmental or non-governmental organizations to reduce the rate of social isolation among this vulnerable population.

Citations

• A randomized controlled trial to address a multimodal intervention in the elderly: the effects of the CAMINN study
  Guillermo Palacios-Navarro, Pedro Ramos, David del Río, Santiago Gascón-Santos
  Aging Clinical and Experimental Research.2026;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Interventions against loneliness and social isolation in older adults– a systematic review
  Johanna Bergsträsser, Teresa Schmahl, Jost Steinhäuser, Katja Goetz
  BMC Public Health.2026;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Persian Version of the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale; a Validation Study in Iranian Children and Adolescence
  Mohadeseh Arefian, Ibrahim Abdollahpour, Maryam Yazdi, Roya Kelishadi
  Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry.2026; 31(4): 1802.     CrossRef
• Navigating Home Help Services: Care Needs and Everyday Adaptation among Frail Older Adults Who Have Lost Their Only Child
  Jixiang Peng, Khadijah Alavi, Azahah Abu Hassan Shaari
  WSEAS TRANSACTIONS ON SYSTEMS.2026; 25: 563.     CrossRef
• Evaluating the sustainability and long-term outcomes of the Home Care Support Intervention Program (HoSIP) to reduce loneliness among community-dwelling older adults: A two-year follow-up study
  Elham Lotfalinezhad, Shannon Freeman, Ahmad Kousha, Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Jeffrey E. Stokes, Sama Amirkhani-Ardeh, Ahmad Sohrabi, Farzaneh Barati, Mina Hashemiparast, Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi, Mohammad Reza Honarvar, Haidar Nadrian, Mehdi Rezaei
  PLOS One.2025; 20(10): e0331987.     CrossRef
• Reconsidering peer-based interventions for loneliness: reflections on the feasibility and future directions of the Home Support Intervention Program
  Schawanya Kaewpitoon Rattanapitoon, Nav La, Nathkapach Kaewpitoon Rattanapitoon
  Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2025; 46(6): 461.     CrossRef
• Supportive environments moderate the relationship between frailty and life satisfaction in older adults: evidence from the China health and retirement longitudinal study (CHARLS)
  Ka Kei Chao, Sok Leng Che, Ka Kit Wong
  BMC Geriatrics.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef

Background
We investigated whether offspring protect or jeopardize in parents.
Methods
We used data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging and performed a longitudinal analysis of 10,236 individuals at baseline (2006) to estimate the association between offspring-related factors and self-rated health among individuals ≥45 years of age.
Results
The estimate for self-rated health was 0.612 times lower (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.503–0.746; P<0.0001) for those with zero offspring. The estimate for self-rated health was 0.736 (95% CI, 0.635–0.853; P<0.0001) for those with five offspring or more. The estimate for self-rated health was 0.707 (95% CI, 0.528–0.947; P=0.020) for males with zero offspring. The estimate for self-rated health was 0.563 (95% CI, 0.422–0.751; P<0.001) for females with no offspring and for females with five or more offspring. The estimate for self-rated health was 0.686 times lower (95% CI, 0.573–0.822; P<0.0001) for those with five or more offspring compared to females with two offspring.
Conclusion
Those with more offspring (≥5) and those with no offspring tended to have an increased probability of low self-rated health. Overall, our results suggest that offspring have a significant positive effect on self-rated health, which was evident graphically as an inverted U-shape.

Citations

• Sleep problems, pain interference, and global subjective health outcome: Findings from a representative aging study in Ghana
  Razak M. Gyasi, Emmanuel Konadu, Priscilla Appiah, Desmond Agyei, Emmanuel Nyaaba, Michael Kwadwo Ntiamoah, Hubert Bimpeh Asiedu, Elizabeth Nana Mbrah Koomson-Yalley, Margaret Makafui Tayviah, Jones Opoku-Ware, André Hajek
  Geriatric Nursing.2025; 61: 73.     CrossRef
• Associations between vigorous physical activity, social ties, social support, and self-reported health among older adults in Accra, Ghana
  Nestor Asiamah, Kyriakos Kouveliotis, Richard Eduafo, Richard Borkey, Zulkarnain Jaafar
  PLOS Global Public Health.2023; 3(2): e0001582.     CrossRef
• KLoSA—Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging
  Jungun Lee
  Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2020; 41(1): 1.     CrossRef
• Association of employment status and income with self-rated health among waged workers with disabilities in South Korea: population-based panel study
  Jae Woo Choi, Juyeong Kim, Euna Han, Tae Hyun Kim
  BMJ Open.2019; 9(11): e032174.     CrossRef

Background
Children are exposed to dangers of loneliness. This problem is associated with violent aggression, depression and anxiety. Therefore, the effect of peer relationship and family function on children's loneliness was investigated in this study. Methods: This study was based on the survey administered to 198, 5th and 6th grade students of fi ve elementary schools in Seoul, Korea, in May, 2007. We investigated family function, peer relationship and children's loneliness by self-rating using the Smilkstein's Family APGAR, Peer Environment Scale and Children's Loneliness Scale. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS ver. 12.0. Results: Comparison group of children with different gender showed significant difference in the peer relationship, especially emotional support. On the other hand, data showed children's loneliness and family function were not affected in male or female children. Group of children with more intimate relationship and healthier family function reduced children's loneliness. Peer relationship and family function had the greatest infl uence on children's loneliness. Conclusion: Group of children with more intimate relationship and healthier family function reduced children's loneliness. Accordingly, family physicians should heed to their family function and know that it has an effect on children's emotions.

Citations

• Relationship between the Object Relation Level and Loneliness of College Students: Mediating Effect of Envy and Suppression, and Avoidance Defense Mechanism
  Shin-hye Park, Jee-Yon Lee
  Journal of Social Science.2018; 29(2): 173.     CrossRef