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Year Awarded: 2008
Project Leaders:
Paul Freddolino, School of Social Work, Francis Komara, Family and Community Medicine - Geriatrics, Amanda Woodward, School of Social Work, Dona Wishart, Otsego County Commission on Aging
Project Description:
Forty-percent of older adults in the U.S. experience loneliness,
and 15% to 20% suffer from depressive symptoms, which can negatively
impact mental and physical health. Strong social networks are important
for reducing loneliness and depression, and recent literature illustrates
the potential role of technology in enhancing social support. This
project explores an intervention using information and communication
technologies (ICTs) to strengthen older adults’ social networks.
It includes two related studies. In the first, together with Otsego
County Commission on Aging (OCCOA) we will conduct a survey to identify
technology use, skill, and self-efficacy (perceived competence)
among older adults (60+) in Otsego County. In the second study we
will recruit, assess, and provide services to 50 randomly assigned
older adults and evaluate the efficacy of a six-month technology-based
supportive intervention with at least weekly contact. Fifty additional
randomly assigned participants will serve as a control group. Participants
will be assigned to one of three core service models based on baseline
ICT knowledge and skills. They will receive instruction in ICT applications
such as simple email (low skills), instant messaging (medium skills),
and social networking websites (high skills). Our hypothesis is
that increasing ICT use and self-efficacy will increase social support,
improve quality of life, and ultimately decrease loneliness and
depression. Data analysis will determine the rate of change in outcomes
using repeated outcome measures and mixed regression models for
maximum analytic power. The proposed project enhances OCCOA’s
capacity to serve older adults and its ability to seek future funding.
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