Associations Harness Digital Tools to Help Isolated Seniors

Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, loneliness was epidemic in this country.

More than three in five Americans said they were lonely in a survey released in January  (opens in a new tab), long before today’s social distancing measures were adopted in response to the coronavirus. The psychological and physiological effects of loneliness and social isolation can be significant—as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.

For the elderly, the risks are especially acute: Older people are more likely to live alone in the U.S. than elsewhere in the world, the Pew Research Center said this month  (opens in a new tab). At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says older adults are at higher risk  (opens in a new tab) for severe COVID-19 infection, and health officials in several states have recommended that the elderly stay home as the crisis continues.

To help, AARP created a new online platform, Community Connections  (opens in a new tab), that gives volunteers and those who need help a place to reach one another. The service allows users to organize and find informal groups of volunteers to help pick up groceries, provide financial assistance, or lend emotional support to those most in need.

“We may need to be physically isolated, but we don’t have to feel alone,” said Andy Miller, senior vice president of AARP Innovation Labs  (opens in a new tab), which developed the new tool, in a statement. “Through this innovative platform, people in need of help from—or who want to offer help to—their communities are empowered to engage.”

“I Love People Who Make Me Laugh.”

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to #laugh  (opens in a new tab). It cures a multitude of ills…” #AudreyHepburn  (opens in a new tab) Some tongue-in-cheek fun to remind us all to keep our #senseofhumor  (opens in a new tab) about all that is going on! What has made you laugh today? #carenotcovid  (opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/gtFAFHB2tc  (opens in a new tab)

— Radiant SeniorLiving (@RadiantSrLiving) March 27, 2020  (opens in a new tab)

In a similar vein, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) launched carenotcovid.com  (opens in a new tab) to share supportive video and other social media messages with residents of nursing homes and assisted living centers—many of whom can’t have visitors because of COVID-19 restrictions.

(agrobacter/E+)