The effectiveness of information technology-based social interaction in reducing loneliness among older adults: A...

Older adults' physical and emotional health are negatively impacted by loneliness, which has become a prominent public health issue. Information technology-based interventions facilitating social participation have emerged as potential strategies for alleviating feelings of loneliness. However, the reported outcomes of these interventions across existing studies remain inconsistent, highlighting the need for a systematic synthesis of relevant evidence.

Assessing how well information technology-based social engagement reduce loneliness in older adults.

PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE databases were thoroughly searched to find research on reducing loneliness in older adults from the databases' founding until November 8, 2025. The study sought to locate randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effectiveness of social engagement therapies based on information technology in lowering symptoms of loneliness. Standardized processes were followed for data extraction, literature screening, and risk-of-bias evaluation. Two researchers worked independently to extract data and evaluate its quality. The included studies were evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, Version 2.0. Average variations and post-treatment standard deviations between the intervention and control groups were contrasted, and pooled effect sizes (Hedges' g) were computed. Meta-analysis was carried out using the programs Stata (Version 17.0) and RevMan (Version 5.4).

A total of 16 RCTs involving 1179 older adults individuals were identified. The meta-analysis results demonstrated that technology-based social engagement interventions could alleviate loneliness in older adults (Hedges' g = -0.50, 95% CI: -0.79 to -0.21, p = 0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed the following: the intervention method of interpersonal interaction (Hedges' g = -0.60, 95% CI: -0.97 to -0.23, p = 0.002) was more effective in reducing loneliness than the human-computer interaction; Studies with a sample size of ≥80 (Hedges' g = -0.32, 95% CI: -0.51 to -0.13, p = 0.001) had better effects than studies with a sample size of <80; The effect of reducing loneliness for older adults with family accompaniment (Hedges' g = -0.69, 95% CI: -1.15 to -0.22, p = 0.004) was more effective than that for those without family accompaniment.

This meta-analysis suggests that technology-based social engagement interventions can help reduce loneliness in older adults, although the findings should be interpreted cautiously due to study heterogeneity and methodological limitations.