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The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Interventions for Reducing Loneliness in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Objective: To systematically analyze the effectiveness of technology-based interventions for reducing loneliness in older adults. Methods: We searched relevant electronic databases from inception to April 2021, which included Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, SpringerLink, EMBASE, CNKI, and...

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Autores principales: Jin, Wenjing, Liu, Yihong, Yuan, Shulin, Bai, Ruhai, Li, Xuebin, Bai, Zhenggang
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8692663/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34955948
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.711030
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author Jin, Wenjing
Liu, Yihong
Yuan, Shulin
Bai, Ruhai
Li, Xuebin
Bai, Zhenggang
author_facet Jin, Wenjing
Liu, Yihong
Yuan, Shulin
Bai, Ruhai
Li, Xuebin
Bai, Zhenggang
author_sort Jin, Wenjing
collection PubMed
description Objective: To systematically analyze the effectiveness of technology-based interventions for reducing loneliness in older adults. Methods: We searched relevant electronic databases from inception to April 2021, which included Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, SpringerLink, EMBASE, CNKI, and Wanfang. The following criteria were used: (i) study design—randomized controlled trial (RCT) designs, (ii) people—older adults (aged ≥ 60 years), (iii) intervention—technology-based interventions in which a core component involved the use of technology to reduce loneliness in older adults; and (iv) outcome—reduction of loneliness level in terms of rating scale scores. Two reviewers independently identified eligible studies, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias in the included studies. A third reviewer resolved any conflicts. The Cochrane Collaboration's bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias for the included studies, and Review Manager 5.4 software was used for the meta-analysis. A random effects model was adopted to measure estimates of loneliness reduction, and standard mean differences (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for each intervention-control contrast, and the I(2) statistic was applied to examine heterogeneity. Results: A total of 391 participants from six RCTs were included in the review. Of these, three studies were rated as low-quality, and the remaining three were rated as moderate-quality studies. The meta-analysis showed that the evidence regarding the effects on loneliness of technology-based interventions compared with control groups was uncertain, and suggested that technology-based interventions resulted in little to no difference in loneliness reduction compared to control groups (SMD = −0.08, 95% CI −0.33 to 0.17, p = 0.53). Two types of technology-based interventions were identified: smartphone-based video calls and computer-based training with Internet usage. The subgroup analysis found low-quality evidence to support the effectiveness of both intervention types (SMD = −0.01, 95% CI −0.25 to 0.24, p = 0.95, and SMD = −0.38, 95% CI −0.19, 0.64, p = 0.47, respectively). Conclusions: We found no current evidence to support that technology-based interventions were effective compared to different control conditions in reducing loneliness in older adults. This suggests that more research is needed to investigate the effects of technology-based interventions on loneliness in older adults.
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spelling pubmed-86926632021-12-23 The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Interventions for Reducing Loneliness in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Jin, Wenjing Liu, Yihong Yuan, Shulin Bai, Ruhai Li, Xuebin Bai, Zhenggang Front Psychol Psychology Objective: To systematically analyze the effectiveness of technology-based interventions for reducing loneliness in older adults. Methods: We searched relevant electronic databases from inception to April 2021, which included Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, SpringerLink, EMBASE, CNKI, and Wanfang. The following criteria were used: (i) study design—randomized controlled trial (RCT) designs, (ii) people—older adults (aged ≥ 60 years), (iii) intervention—technology-based interventions in which a core component involved the use of technology to reduce loneliness in older adults; and (iv) outcome—reduction of loneliness level in terms of rating scale scores. Two reviewers independently identified eligible studies, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias in the included studies. A third reviewer resolved any conflicts. The Cochrane Collaboration's bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias for the included studies, and Review Manager 5.4 software was used for the meta-analysis. A random effects model was adopted to measure estimates of loneliness reduction, and standard mean differences (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for each intervention-control contrast, and the I(2) statistic was applied to examine heterogeneity. Results: A total of 391 participants from six RCTs were included in the review. Of these, three studies were rated as low-quality, and the remaining three were rated as moderate-quality studies. The meta-analysis showed that the evidence regarding the effects on loneliness of technology-based interventions compared with control groups was uncertain, and suggested that technology-based interventions resulted in little to no difference in loneliness reduction compared to control groups (SMD = −0.08, 95% CI −0.33 to 0.17, p = 0.53). Two types of technology-based interventions were identified: smartphone-based video calls and computer-based training with Internet usage. The subgroup analysis found low-quality evidence to support the effectiveness of both intervention types (SMD = −0.01, 95% CI −0.25 to 0.24, p = 0.95, and SMD = −0.38, 95% CI −0.19, 0.64, p = 0.47, respectively). Conclusions: We found no current evidence to support that technology-based interventions were effective compared to different control conditions in reducing loneliness in older adults. This suggests that more research is needed to investigate the effects of technology-based interventions on loneliness in older adults. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-12-08 /pmc/articles/PMC8692663/ /pubmed/34955948 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.711030 Text en Copyright © 2021 Jin, Liu, Yuan, Bai, Li and Bai. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Jin, Wenjing
Liu, Yihong
Yuan, Shulin
Bai, Ruhai
Li, Xuebin
Bai, Zhenggang
The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Interventions for Reducing Loneliness in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
title The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Interventions for Reducing Loneliness in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
title_full The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Interventions for Reducing Loneliness in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
title_fullStr The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Interventions for Reducing Loneliness in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
title_full_unstemmed The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Interventions for Reducing Loneliness in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
title_short The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Interventions for Reducing Loneliness in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
title_sort effectiveness of technology-based interventions for reducing loneliness in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8692663/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34955948
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.711030
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