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Loneliness significantly affects the physical and mental health of older adults, particularly those in long-term care settings. Despite the high prevalence of loneliness, comprehensive reviews on psychosocial interventions targeting loneliness in these populations are scarce.
To evaluate the effects of psychosocial interventions in reducing loneliness among long-term care residents.
A systematic review and meta-analysis.
We conducted a comprehensive search across five databases—CINAHL, EMBASE, PubMed/Medline, PsychINFO and The Cochrane Library—from inception to 14 February 2025. The inclusion criteria encompassed randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies and pilot studies published in English that assessed psychosocial interventions for loneliness amongst long-term care residents. The Effective Public Health Practice Project framework was utilised for the quality assessment.
A total of 19 studies with 1646 participants were included. Results indicated that psychosocial interventions significantly reduced loneliness in long-term care residents. The interventions were categorised into lifestyle and leisure activities, psychological interventions, social support interventions and animal/robot-assisted interventions. Subgroup analyses revealed significant effects for lifestyle and leisure activities, group-based interventions, face-to-face delivery and interventions that less than 8 weeks.
Psychosocial interventions demonstrated a large effect size in reducing loneliness amongst long-term care residents. Interventions that incorporated lifestyle and leisure activities with a physical activity component, delivered face-to-face in group settings and lasted for less than 8 weeks may be particularly effective.
This review provides updated evidence that psychosocial interventions could improve loneliness amongst residents in long-term care settings. Consequently, it offers solid information to inform policy changes and intervention strategies.
The researching results were reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis checklist.
This study is a systematic review with meta-analysis, and such details do not apply to our work.
Trial Registration: This protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database (ID: CRD42024534009)
To examine the potential mediating role of social support and depression between loneliness and quality of life among long-term care facility residents.
A cross-sectional study.
A convenience sample of 121 long-term care facility residents was recruited between June 2024 and March 2025. Validated instruments assessed loneliness, social support, depression, and quality of life. Multivariable regression and mediation analyses explored relationships and mediation effects among these variables.
Participants had a mean age of 80.6 years. Loneliness was reported by 80.2% of residents, poor social support by 82.6%, depressive symptoms by 33.1%, and reduced quality of life by 52.1%. Multivariable analysis identified loneliness and depression as significant predictors of diminished quality of life. Mediation analysis revealed that depression partially mediated the relationship between loneliness and quality of life, while social support did not.
Loneliness and depression significantly influence quality of life in long-term care facility residents, with depression as a partial mediator. Targeted interventions addressing both loneliness and depression are essential to enhance residents' well-being.
Nursing practice must prioritise interventions for loneliness and depression to improve quality of life in long-term care facilities, with a particular focus on managing depressive symptoms.
This work informs nursing practice and policy to enhance well-being in long-term care facilities by highlighting the critical role of loneliness and depression. Nursing interventions should prioritise targeted mental health support and personalised care plans to address these issues effectively. Further research is needed to clarify the contextual role of social support in this population to improve intervention effectiveness.
The authors have followed the STROBE checklist for reporting methods.
No patient or public contribution outside of the participation in the actual study for purposes of data collection.
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