Social Connections and Health among Older Adults Living in Low-income Housing

项目总结/摘要 当一个人的社会联系有限时，就会出现社会孤立。大约四分之一的老年人在社会上 与世隔绝社会孤立是一个危险因素的发病率和死亡率的比较确定的危险因素 包括吸烟、高血压和久坐的生活方式。社会关系有限的老年人帐户 估计每年将增加67亿美元的医疗保险支出。低收入老年人有两个 与高收入者相比，经历社会孤立的几率是前者的两倍。中电流老化 预测和报告显示，目前的美国老年人负债累累，储蓄不足， 对低收入住房的需求有所增加。尽管流行病学证据表明， 有限的社会联系对健康的影响，我们对最佳解决方案的知识存在差距， 解决这个问题。注重社会联系，改善老年人的身心健康 居住在低收入住房的人是一个重要的研究领域。我们将使用定性和定量的方法 增加我们对影响这一人群社会关系的因素的理解。我们提出 具体目标如下：目标1A。描述生活在低收入家庭的老年人的社会关系， 收入住房，利用社会网络库存访谈。我们将确定频率，功能， 可以在干预中针对的关系，重点是社会联系，以改善身体 和心理健康的老年人谁住在低收入住房。目标1B。探索老年人的观点 生活在低收入住房中的成年人对社会关系的偏好， 影响他们的社会关系及其对身心健康的影响。我们将进行半- 结构化访谈，探讨以下方面：1）社会关系的偏好，2）促进者 和社会联系的障碍，3）影响社会联系的资源，4）对社会关系的看法， 联系对身心健康的影响，以及5）关于不同的可接受性的观点 干预措施。目标2.探讨本地低收入房屋持份者对社会福利的看法， 联系和干预措施的可行性，以改善老年人的社会联系。我们将 与低收入房屋持份者（例如服务协调员）召开3 - 4个焦点小组，探讨 关于现有方法的观点，以确定和解决这一人群的社会孤立， 对几种基于社区的干预想法的可行性的反应。实现这些目标将 为未来的工作提供基础，促进我们对生活在老年人健康的理解。 低收入住房，并促进制定一项干预措施，重点是社会联系， 增进身心健康。本建议书将支持候选人的职业发展， 他的目标是成为一名独立的临床研究人员，专注于开发，实施和 评估以社区为基础的干预措施，以改善低收入老年人的健康。

Project Summary/Abstract Social isolation exists when one has limited social connections. Approximately 1 in 4 older adults are socially isolated. Social isolation is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality comparable to well-established risk factors including smoking, hypertension, and a sedentary lifestyle. Older adults with limited social connections account for an estimated additional $6.7 billion dollars in annual Medicare spending. Low income older adults have two times the odds of experiencing social isolation compared to those with higher incomes. Amidst current aging projections and reports that the current cohort of older Americans have high debt and insufficient savings, the demand for low income housing has increased. Despite epidemiologic evidence demonstrating the deleterious effects of limited social connections on health, gaps exist in our knowledge regarding the best solutions to address this problem. Focusing on social connections to improve the physical and mental health of older adults who live in low income housing is an important area of study. We will use qualitative and quantitative methods to increase our understanding of the factors that affect the social connections of this population. We propose the following specific aims: Aim 1A. To characterize the social connections of older adults who live in low income housing, utilizing social network inventory interviews. We will identify the frequency, function, and relationships that can be targeted in an intervention that focuses on social connections to improve the physical and mental health of older adults who live in low income housing. Aim 1B. To explore the perspectives of older adults who live in low income housing regarding their preferences for social connections, the factors that influence their social connections and its impact on physical and mental health. We will conduct semi- structured interviews to explore the following perspectives: 1) preferences for social connections, 2) facilitators and barriers to social connections, 3) resources that impact social connections, 4) perceptions regarding social connections impact on physical and mental health, and 5) perspectives regarding the acceptability of different interventions. Aim 2. To explore the perspectives of local low income housing stakeholders on social connections and the feasibility of an intervention to improve the social connections of older adults. We will convene 3-4 focus groups with low income housing stakeholders (e.g. service coordinators) to explore perspectives regarding existing approaches to identify and address social isolation in this population and elicit reactions on the feasibility of several community based intervention ideas. Accomplishing these aims will provide the foundation for future work that advances our understanding of the health of older adults who live in low income housing and facilitate the development of an intervention that focuses on social connections to improve the physical and mental health. This proposal will support the career development of the candidate, who aims to become an independent clinician investigator focused on developing, implementing, and evaluating community based interventions that improve the health of low income older adults.