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Haleigh Lindsay

Marissa Michael

English 15

10 December 2018

Elderly Isolation

Looking around you don’t know whether one is suffering from a food insecurity,

although your friend, family member, or colleague could be one. This is just one of the many

problems that affect nonprofit organizations. On behalf of my community service project, I

participated in volunteer work for Meals on Wheels and became aware that elderly isolation was

associated with the organization. However, Meals on Wheels has other problems, such as hunger

and nutrition, accompanying their organization, but they try their hardest to address and help the

issue. This problem in elderly, which is 15% of today’s population (Mather), occurs from many

different issues, such as living alone, death, advancement in technology, disability, etc. The

effects of this problem are causing diseases and health risks that can physically and mentally

alter a person’s life (Davidson 9). There are solutions to help with the risks and feelings elderly

are facing every day like emotional and social support, social media use; and lastly,

organizations, such as Meals on Wheels.

Factors That Influence Elderly Isolation

Research has shown that there are many factors that apply to elderly isolation as

loneliness and isolation have a corresponding relationship. These are feelings of emptiness that

seniors suffer from that can lead to serious consequences and need to be taken seriously. There

are many factors that cause elderly to feel lonely and isolated from society such as, living alone,

no visitation or communication with family or friends, loss of significant other, divorce, aging,
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disability, no hobbies, and lastly, low or no education (as cited in Şar et al., 1054). As studies

showed for people 65 years or older, about 46% spend time with their family most of the time,

compared to other ages, where the percentages were 65%-76% and around 12% said they never

spent time with family. When it comes to friends, 35% spent time with friends most of the time

and 12% never did (Davidson 2). In an article titled “Risk Factors for Loneliness in Elderly

Adults”, studies showed that elders with decreasing health are at risk for loneliness. This is

suggesting that poor physical health can restrict social interaction causing the inability to

perpetuate relationships with family or friends and take part in activities outside of the home

(Emerson 886). All these factors pose serious health risks to elders and therefore, need actions to

be taken to help them cope.

Health Risks Involved with Elderly Isolation

Likewise, more research has introduced effects of this social issue on senior citizens.

Other than feelings of loneliness and isolation, the result of these issues can lead to a range of

physical and mental health issues that can negatively affect an elder’s daily life. When the

feelings are long-lasting, they can begin to result in a weakening of health and a shorter lifespan.

Feelings of loneliness can cause many individuals to experience the feeling of fear, in which it

causes an increase in not only blood pressure, but the chance of getting cardiovascular disease.

These health risks will affect the heart by putting the organ at risk from working too hard to

prevent these health problems. Another risk from loneliness is the increase in cortisol, a hormone

that controls blood sugar, and stress levels that will weaken and affect the immune system.

Therefore, the body will eventually shut down, due to not being able to fight off bacteria and

diseases. All of these conditions are severe and can produce emotions, such as depression and

anxiety (Davidson 9).

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There are also health risks that form from having low social connections. Social isolation

has been associated with reduced cognitive functions, while in contrast, people who are socially

involved have less of a cognitive decrease and therefore, are less prone to gaining dementia or

Alzheimer’s disease in their future. This is because one’s cognitive health is promoted directly

through strengthened brain stimulation and indirectly through lowered stress levels. Being lonely

or isolated can cause sleep impairment and can lead to memory loss (Davidson 9).

Although loneliness affects health, it also affects well-being. People adapt behaviors of

rejection and mistrust, which influences one’s mental health in a negative way. The feelings

create a continuous circle, in which the symptoms of mistrust make the individual feel left out

and have a fear of the world (Davidson pg. 10). These feelings can cause psychological problems

within senior citizens as well. A few of the psychological risks include depression, anxiety, low

self-esteem, tiredness, and suicidal thoughts (as cited Sar et al., 1054). Although these risks can

all be considered small, they can become severe and need to be treated as any other health risks

because they can affect other health problems and create a decline in their normal lifestyle or

well-being. They can affect your focus and cause feelings of panic and hopelessness, in which

can cause one’s state of mental health to become negative and take over their life.

Solutions to Elderly Isolation

There are many reasons for why elderly feel lonely and isolated from the world, as well

as many solutions to elderly isolation that can easily be done to help them cope with their

problems. For example, if an elder is trying to cope with the loss of a loved one or spouse, there

is emotional support out there to help them. Emotional support would be considered feelings of

belonging to a group or feelings of being cared for by one another (Tomaka 361). They can go

see a therapist or even join group therapy sessions, where people who are dealing with the same
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problem, go to talk and help each other cope. While one can argue that these activities will not

necessarily help them overcome the problem itself, these activities can however, relieve pressure

and emotion built up in their body. Activities such as these, can also help with low

communication, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, and have others to lean on and help

them as they are not alone. Another way of support is social support, which assist elderly with

financial, physical, and just general information (Tomaka 361). They can be assisted with a nurse

or aid to help them get around the house if they have a disability or have dementia and cannot do

daily activities for themselves, such as cleansing, eating, or even dressing themselves. Aids can

also help pay bills for you or help you find a way of getting a monthly income to pay for the

necessities. Although all of these solutions are great ways to help the elderly, they do require

money. However, there are programs out there that can help lower the cost or even provide

information on free sessions available.

Technology has advanced in tremendous ways. Seniors specifically, have observed the

change in technology over the years. There are a few solutions to elderly isolation by using

technology to help take stress off of not only the elders themselves, but caregivers as well. One,

for example, would be electronic pill dispensers and organizers. This type of technology would

help elders with dementia, or a memory deficiency. Some will forget what pills to take or if they

have already taken that pill. Also, many seniors experience vision loss or bad vision and the

electronic pills containers would help them sort out the ones they need day by day (Logue 54).

My organization, Meals on Wheels, was located and provided by the local senior center. I

believe, by my own experience, that this is a great solution to some of the issue’s elderly are

facing. The senior center not only provides Meals on Wheels, where they have volunteers and

employees to deliver and package nutritious meals for elderly, but they also provide activities for
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people of the neighborhood to get involved with. Some of the activities include lunch, bingo,

card games, flu shots, ticket fundraisers, etc. These activities give the seniors the opportunity to

see their friends, meet new people, and get involved. They get to interact with others every week

day and can be a way for them to get out of the house and socialize. The flu shots help them

prevents illness because as you get older, your health is at risk more and are more prone to

illness. By fundraising, they have a reason to call their family and friends, and help the center

provide more (Loneliness). A specific solution I am working on doing is making a social media

post on one of the many platforms. I plan on using more than one platform, so the topic I am

addressing gets focus from several audiences. This solution could help towards gaining local

citizens attention on the issue and gain more volunteers to help the organization or even just get

families involved in the problem associated among elderly.

Problems Associated with Meals on Wheels

Meals on Wheels is an organization that helps senior citizens obtain healthy, nutritious,

and home-delivered meals every day. During my contribution with Meals on Wheels, I

experienced that the majority of the people live alone. Although some have aids or nurses to help

them with daily activities, about one million elderly say that they are always lonely and about

49% of people over the age of 75 live alone (Davidson 2). My driver for Meals on Wheels,

Teddy, informed me about her experience with the elderly every day. One thing that made me

want to get involved and make a change on this specific issue was that fact that she stated “I am

their ray of sunshine every day because most of the people I deliver to have nobody to talk to or

even have the chance to get out of the house to be socially active with others.” Another issue I

noticed with my experience with Meals on Wheels is that most of the elderly are disabled. With a

disability, some may not be able to walk or even think correctly on their own. It can severely
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affect a person’s daily lifestyle in many ways, one being hygiene. If one is not able to get up or

do things for themselves, they cannot cleanse themselves or even take care of their home. As I

delivered to each house, there was a variety of people I witnessed and got to make conversation

with. Some had nice living arrangements and others not so nice, some had nurses or a family

member that helped them with activities or gather the food off of me, while others, I had to walk

it in and lay it down in a specific spot. This opportunity with the organization has helped me

gather a diversity of knowledge on the elderly life that many, including myself, do not know.

Conclusion

From my experience with Meals on Wheels, I have noticed as a volunteer that many

seniors suffer from isolation and loneliness. Various factors, such as loss of a loved one, low

communication, disability, no hobbies, and living alone can put older adults at risk for

experiencing loneliness and social isolation. Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, depression,

suicidal thoughts, and cardiovascular disease are all common health risks that can result from

these negative factors. There are solutions that the community can take to help them cope with

the feelings that elderly face every day and help them get involved easier, such as community

center activities and social and emotional support.

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Works Cited

“Loneliness among the Elderly: Preventing Isolation.” Brunet, Pharmacists Affiliated,

www.brunet.ca/en/advices/loneliness-among-the-elderly-preventing-isolation.html.

Davidson, Susan and Rossall, Phil. “Evidence Review: Loneliness in Later Life.”Age UK

Loneliness Evidence Review. July 2015

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/reports-and-publications/reports-and-

briefings/health--wellbeing/rb_june15_lonelines_in_later_life_evidence_review.pdf

Mather, Mark. “Fact Sheet: Aging in the United States.” Population Reference Bureau, 13 Jan.

2016, www.prb.org/aging-unitedstates-fact-sheet/.

Şar, Ali Haydar, et al. "Is the Internet use an effective method to cope with elderly loneliness and

decrease loneliness symptom?." Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 55 (2012):

1053-1059.

Tomaka, Joe, et al. “The Relation of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Social Support to Disease

Outcomes Among the Elderly.” Journal of Aging and Health, vol. 18, no. 3, June 2006,

pp. 359–384, doi:10.1177/0898264305280993.

Logue, Rebecca McGarry. “Self-Medication and the Elderly: How Technology Can Help.” The

American Journal of Nursing, vol. 102, no. 7, 2002, pp. 51–55. JSTOR, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/3523003.

Emerson PhD, Kerstin G, et al. “Risk Factors for Loneliness in Elderly Adults.” Journal of

Aging and Health, vol. 64, no. 4, April 2016, pp. 886-887, https//doi-

org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1111/jgs.14053