engAGED: The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults, is a national effort to increase the social engagement of older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers by expanding and enhancing the Aging Network’s capacity to offer social engagement. Check out our training and technical assistance opportunities and our outreach materials to learn more about how engAGED can help support your organization’s social engagement programming.
This blog post highlights USAging’s newest grant, the Strengthening Social Connection in Communities Project, from the John A. Hartford Foundation, aimed at improving the health of older adults and their caregivers by replicating evidence-based social connection programs within communities.
Visit the Social Engagement Innovations Hub to access newly added social connection programs, services, and interventions! Innovations Hub summaries contain all you need to know about each example, including resources needed to recreate within your organization.
This consumer guide is designed to help individuals learn more and engage in activities that connect people across multiple generations. The guide includes a list of types of intergenerational activities, tips on getting started in your own community and additional resources to support opportunities to connect.
This article examines the relationship between loneliness, frailty and functional limitations among older adults. Through the survey of more than 4,000 older adults in China, it was found that there is a positive correlation among all factors indicating older adults who are lonely are more likely to have functional limitations. Additionally, this study found that frailty is an important mediating factor for older adults’ loneliness and functional limitations.
A recent study found that the caregivers of adults who recently suffered strokes have a significantly higher risk of experiencing social alienation. This includes higher reported feelings of loneliness and lower levels of perceived social support. The study calls for targeted interventions to address the needs of this population.
This cross-sectional study analyzed the effects of both the quality and quantity of relationships among older adults and their perceived loneliness. Findings suggest that though both factors play an important role, the quality and type of relationship had more of a significant effect on reported loneliness.
