Befriending, Loneliness, and Quality of Life of Older Adults: A Pilot Evaluation Study

An aggregated interventional N-of-1 or single-case design was used to assess the impact of a befriending intervention on a) health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), and b) the association between loneliness on HR-QoL among older adults.

Participants were n = 33 new users of the service, aged 60 + . Outcomes were measured at 13 timepoints across 26 weeks, and data were analyzed using generalized additive modeling (GAM) with a subset of data analyzed using supplementary visual analysis.

Results indicate that the befriending service may reduce decline of HR-QoL (i.e. HR-QoL declined in the baseline phase over time: edf = 3.893, F = 3.0, p = .002, while in the treatment phase, HR-QoL remained more stable: edf = 5.98, F = 2.98, p = .008). The intervention also suppressed the impact of loneliness on HR-QoL.

Befriending interventions may prevent declines in HR-QoL, and may moderate the impact of loneliness on HR-QoL.

Our preliminary findings suggest that befriending services may be useful if clinicians have concerns about the health impacts of loneliness for older people. It is difficult to evaluate community-based services, and we consider the challenges we faced, with a view to assisting others planning similar evaluations.