Alone in a crowd: Supporting older Australians managing loneliness
Funded by the Australian Research Council under the Linkage Project Scheme (2007-2009)
(LP0774983)
Alone in a Crowd: Supporting Older Australians Managing Loneliness was a
three year qualitative study that aimed to provide a comprehensive in-depth
knowledge about older peoples' and service providers' perceptions and
understandings of loneliness. Building on this knowledge, 4 pilot strategies
were developed, implemented, and evaluated at the partner organisations in
collaboration with older people and support/ service providers. The study
provided new knowledge and strategies about optimum configuration of
services and support to assist growing numbers of older Australians managing
loneliness. The study was conducted in South Australia (University of South
Australia) and in Queensland (Griffith University) with Industry
partners at Helping Hand Aged Care, RSL Care, Southern Cross Care Inc (SA),
ECH (Inc).
Research Team
Dr Mandy Stanley
Senior Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, UniSA, Adelaide
Professor Wendy Moyle
Professor and Deputy Director, Research Centre for Clinical and
Community Practice Innovation, Griffith University, Brisbane
Ms Alison Ballantyne
Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, School of Health Sciences, UniSA,
Adelaide
Ms Megan Corlis
Director Research & Development, Helping Hand Aged Care, Adelaide
Ms Deborah Oxlade
Executive Manager Service Development, RSL Care, Brisbane
Mr Andrew Stoll
General Manager Community Services ECH Inc, Adelaide
Ms Beverley Young
General Manager, Metropolitan Community Services, Southern Cross Care
(SA) Inc, Adelaide
Research Assistants
Miss Sam Zubrinich
Research Assistant, School of Health Sciences, UniSA, Adelaide
Miss Natalie Gracia
Research Assistant, Research Centre for Clinical and Community
Practice Innovation, Griffith University, Brisbane
Bulletins
- Bulletin 1 - May 2007
- Bulletin 2 - January 2008
- Bulletin 3 - September 2008
- Bulletin 4 - May 2009
- Bulletin 5 - March 2010
Key Outcome Documents
Publications
- Stanley M, Moyle W, Ballantyne A, Jaworski K, Corlis M, Oxlade D, Stoll A & Young B. 'Nowadays you don't even see your neighbours': Understanding loneliness in the everyday lives of older Australians. Health and Social Care in the Community 18(4): 407-414 (2010).
- Gracia N, Moyle W, Oxlade D & Radford K. Addressing loneliness in a retirement village community: a pilot test of a print-delivered intervention. Australasian Journal on Ageing 29: 179-182 (2010).
Manuscripts under review
- Ballantyne A, Trenwith L, Zubrinich S & Corlis M. 'I feel less lonely': What older people say about participating in a social networking website. Submitted to Quality in Ageing.
Conference presentations
2010
- Stanley M, Cheek J, Ballantyne A, Moyle W, Oxlade D, Corlis M, Stoll A, & Young B. Understanding and addressing loneliness for older people. World Occupational Therapy Congress: Sharing the World of Occupation from Latin America. Santiago, Chile 4-7 May 2010.
2009
- Stanley M. Depression in the elderly: should we improve assessment and management or just concentrate on being happy? Hammond Care's 5th National Depression Conference. Sydney 14- 15 May 2009
- Stanley M, Stoll A, Ballantyne A, Moyle W, Corlis M, Oxlade D &
Young B. Keynote: One size doesn't fit all: working towards sustainable
best practice in supporting older Australians to manage
loneliness. Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG). SA Gerontology
Conference. Regenerating the Ageing Debate! Talking about our generations.
Adelaide, 28th August 2009
Click here to view a copy of this presentation - Corlis M, Stanley M, Ballantyne A, Moyle W, Oxlade D, Stoll A & Young B. Towards a Better Understanding of Loneliness in Older Australians. Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG): Translation and Transformation. Canberra, 25-27 November 2009
- Stanley M, Stoll A, Corlis M, Moyle W, Ballantyne A, Oxlade D & Young B. Keynote: One Size Doesn't Fit All: Working Towards Sustainable Best Practice in Supporting Older Australians Managing Loneliness. Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG): Translation and Transformation. Canberra, 25-27 November 2009
2008
- Moyle W, Cheek J, Ballantyne A, Stanley M, Corlis M, Oxlade D, Jaworski K, Du Chesne L. An Australian Study of Loneliness: Implications of Stigma. International Psychogeriatric Conference, Dublin, Ireland. 8-10 April 2008
- Moyle W, Cheek J, Ballantyne A, Stanley M, Corlis M, Oxlade D, Jaworski K, Du Chesne L. An Australian Study of Loneliness. I-Shou University, Nursing Research Conference, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 18 June 2008
- Stanley M, Cheek J, Moyle W, Ballantyne A, Jaworski K & Corlis M. Towards a better understanding of loneliness for older Australians. OT Australia National Conference: Creating the Future: to inspire, to explore, to take action. Melbourne 11-13 September 2008
- Cheek J, Moyle W, Ballantyne A, Stanley M, Corlis M, Oxlade D, Jaworski K, Du Chesne L, Stoll A & Young B. One size doesn't fit all: Working towards sustainable best practice in supporting older Australians managing loneliness. Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA): Adelaide Aged Care in the Fast Lane. 28 September-1 October 2008
- Stanley M, Corlis M, Cheek J, Moyle W, Ballantyne A, Oxlade D, Jaworski K, Stoll A, Young B & Low C. Changing the Landscape: Older Australians Managing Loneliness. Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG): Ageing Landscapes. Fremantle, 18-21 November 2008
2007
- Stanley M, Cheek J, Moyle W, Ballantyne A, Corlis M, Oxlade D, Jaworski K, Stoll A & Young B. Supporting Older Australians Managing Loneliness. Beyond 2007 Ageing: Evolution and Revolution, Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) 40th National Conference. Adelaide, South Australia, 21-23 November 2007 (paper and poster presentation)
Poster presentations
2009
- Oxlade D, Cheek J, Moyle W, Stanley M, Ballantyne A, Corlis M, Stoll A & Young B. Alone in a Crowd: Evaluating a Solution for Retirement Living Communities to Manage Loneliness. Creative Communities Conference, Gold Coast, QLD. 15th-17th April 09.
- Cheek J, Ballantyne A, Oxlade D, Moyle W, Stanley M, Corlis M, Stoll A & Young B. Best practice in supporting older Australians managing loneliness. International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (IAHSA). London 19-22 July 2009
- Cheek J, Ballantyne A, Oxlade D, Moyle W, Stanley M, Corlis M, Stoll A & Young B. Better understanding and addressing loneliness for older Australians. International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) World Congress: Longevity, Health & Wealth. Paris 5-9 July 2009
- Ballantyne A, Stanley M, Moyle W, Corlis M, Oxlade D, Stoll A &
Young B. Understanding Loneliness in Older Australians: Connecting What We
Know and What We Do. Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG):
Translation and Transformation. Canberra, 25-27 November 2009
This poster won the COTA Seniors Voice poster prize.
2007
- Jaworski K, Cheek J, Stanley M, Moyle W, Ballantyne A, Corlis M, Oxlade D, Stoll A & Young B. Findings of Stage One were presented at the Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age Annual Scientific Meeting. Adelaide 4-5 October 2007
Professional Presentations (Industry and University)
2010
- 'Alone in a Crowd: Supporting Older Australians Managing Loneliness'. Presented to Service Providers working with older people who were invited by Western Linkages Project and Northern Collaborative Project, Adelaide, 29th June 2010.
2009
- 'One Size Doesn't Fit All' - working towards sustainable best practice in supporting older Australians managing loneliness. ECH, Inc for ILS Manager and Coordinators, August 2009.
2008
- Management presentations at Helping Hand Aged Care, Inc., Southern Cross Care (SA) & ECH, Inc., 20 February, 29 May & 26 August 2008, respectively.
- 'Alone in a Crowd', Retirement Village Association/Aged and Community Services Housing Forum, May 2008.
- Participant Views from Interviews and Focus Groups. Centre for Research
into Sustainable Health Care meeting, University of South Australia, June 2008.
- Understanding Loneliness in Everyday Lives of Older
Australians. Northern Collaborative Project, Steering
Committee Meeting, City of Salisbury (by invitation), 11
September 2008.
- Understanding Loneliness in Everyday Lives of Older Australians. University of South Australia Successful Ageing in Australia: Social Networks and Living Options (by invitation), Adelaide, 3 October 2008.
2007
- Alone in a Crowd Project Update. How Research Linkages are Impacting the Health and Life Quality of Older People, Centre for Aged Care Studies Research Seminar, Adelaide, South Australia, 1 December 2007.
- Research Contributions to the Well Being of Older People. Occupation Sciences Discussion Space Forum, School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, 12-13 December 2007.
Contacts
| Dr Mandy Stanley | Prof Wendy Moyle |
| University of South Australia | Griffith University |
| School of Health Sciences | School of Nursing and Midwifery |
| GPO Box 2471 | 170 Kessels Rd |
| Adelaide SA 5001 | Brisbane QLD 4111 |
| Australia | Australia |
| mandy.stanley@unisa.edu.au | w.moyle@griffith.edu.au |
| +61 8 8302 2705 | +61 7 3735 5526 |