Effects of Psychosocial Interventions on Loneliness Amongst Long-Term Care Residents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Jodie Cheuk-Yan Szeto, Lily Man-Lee Chan, Wilfred Wing-Fung Sin and 2 others
PMID 40501020WHAT IT FOUND
Face-to-face group activities lasting under eight weeks cut loneliness in long-term care residents.
Lifestyle activities like laughter, gardening and exercise worked better than psychological therapies. Virtual visits with family showed no benefit.
Key findings
01Psychosocial interventions significantly reduced loneliness among long-term care residents (SMD = -1.11, p < 0.001), but the evidence is graded as low certainty due to high heterogeneity and small sample sizes.
02Group-based and face-to-face interventions were more effective than individual or virtual ones, with lifestyle and leisure activities showing a larger effect than psychological interventions.
03Shorter interventions (8 weeks or less) produced large reductions in loneliness, while those lasting 9 weeks or more showed no significant effect.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The evidence is of low certainty due to high heterogeneity between studies and small sample sizes in many trials. Publication bias was strongly suspected, as indicated by the funnel plot and Egger's test. Many studies had weak quality ratings, particularly regarding blinding and selection bias. Long-term effects were not captured because few studies included follow-up assessments beyond the immediate post-intervention period. The background of the people delivering the interventions was often not reported, making it unclear who provided the care.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume all psychosocial interventions work equally. The large overall effect was driven by specific types like lifestyle activities and face-to-face groups. Virtual interventions showed no benefit, and longer programmes (9+ weeks) were not effective.