Content area
Full Text
(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)
Articles
Background
The isolation of older people is increasingly recognised as a social issue of considerable policy importance in contemporary Western society. While the risk factors and social or health outcomes of isolation in later life are well documented, the evidence regarding the effectiveness of programmes aimed at reducing social isolation in older people remains inconclusive. This is particularly the case for community-based programmes, the majority of which have not included systematic evaluations nor used established outcome measures.
This paper reports on the lessons from an Australian pilot study aimed at administering a formal evaluation of interventions to reduce social isolation among older people. The study involved a series of demonstration projects conducted as part of the Queensland Cross-Government Project to Reduce Social Isolation in Older People (CGPRSIOP), which was led by the Office for Seniors within the Queensland Department of Communities between 2005 and 2007. The three demonstration projects provided a variety of activities and programmes for older people at risk of isolation in different social settings. The selection of interventions was based on comprehensive literature reviews (Findlay 2003) and community consultations conducted in the early phase of the CGRSIOP (Department of Communities 2006, 2008).
Pre- and post-intervention surveys, including social isolation scales, were incorporated into the programmes to evaluate to what extent the interventions produced the intended result. This paper reports on the design as well as the findings of these Queensland programmes, and focuses on the challenges experienced in attempting to include formal evaluation measures in an intervention implemented by service providers rather than trained researchers. As the use of validated psychological measures to evaluate the effectiveness of community interventions is not common practice in government-run programmes, this study presents a useful account of how this was achieved and the challenges involved. Thus, the aim of this paper is to add to existing practice knowledge around how to better implement reliable evaluation techniques in community-based interventions.
The paper starts with a brief review of the evidence base of social isolation in later life. The second section provides details of the three demonstration programmes and study methodology. The third section reports on the findings of these programmes and methodological issues encountered in implementing and evaluating the interventions....