A qualitative exploration of social isolation among elderly residents in a residential care facility.
Social isolation in the elderly is a significant concern for healthcare providers, as it is frequently linked to declining physical health and cognitive impairment. While many facilities provide group activities, the subjective experience of 'loneliness within a crowd' remains under-researched. This study aimed to understand how residents perceive their daily social interactions with staff and peers.
The researcher used an opportunity sample of 10 residents (7 females, 3 males) aged 78 to 92 from a single urban care home. The researcher, who worked part-time as a volunteer at the home, spent four weeks conducting participant observations. During these sessions, the researcher engaged in daily activities while maintaining a field diary to record behaviors, body language, and verbal exchanges.
Ethical approval was granted by the institutional review board. Before the study began, the researcher held a meeting with the facility manager and potential participants to explain the nature of the observations. Written consent was obtained from all participants. To protect identities, all names were replaced with pseudonyms in the final report.
Following the observation period, the researcher used inductive content analysis to identify patterns in the field notes. A summary of the primary observations is provided in the table below:
(a) the research method used in the scenario and two characteristics of this specific method.
(b) one strength and one limitation of the sampling method used in this study.
