ArticleBMC geriatrics2018
Video-calls to reduce loneliness and social isolation within care environments for older people: an implementation study using collaborative action research.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 137 citations in OpenAlex.
- Video calls for reducing social isolation and loneliness in older people: a rapid review.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Video Calls for Older Adults: A Narrative Review of Experiments Involving Older Adults in Elderly Care Institutions.Frontiers in public healthPooled it
- Trial
- Real-Life Emotional Support, Social-Media-Based Emotional Support, and Loneliness Among US Adults: A Nationally Representative Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- Shared Experiences and Care Improvement Priorities for Multimorbidity Management: An Experience-Based Co-Design Study.Learning health systems · 2026Article
- Relationships between In-person and Digital Social Interactions with Family and Friends and Loneliness among Older Adults in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the 2024 JACSIS.Annals of geriatric medicine and research · 2026Article
- Escalating loneliness among Chinese American older adults in an affordable housing community: a repeat cross-sectional study (2012-2025).Innovation in aging · 2026Article
- The role of ICT use in reducing social isolation among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from frail and healthy older adults in Sakai City, Japan.BMC public health · 2025Article
- ICT communication with family/friends and its associations with mental health and insomnia in COVID-19 patients during hospital quarantine: a cross-sectional study in Shenzhen, China.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Using a Robot to Address the Well-Being, Social Isolation, and Loneliness of Care Home Residents via Video Calls: Qualitative Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- The Impact of Telepresence Robots on Family Caregivers and Residents in Long-Term Care.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Investigating the Acceptability of an Interactive Television Intervention Promoting Social Links Among Older Adults Living at Home and in Care Institutions: Qualitative Interview and Questionnaire Study.JMIR human factors · 2024Article
- Addressing loneliness and social isolation through the involvement of primary and secondary informal caregivers in nursing homes: a scoping review.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- Usage and limitations of medical consultation with patients' families using online video calls: a prospective cohort study.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2024Article
- The Impact of Interaction Time and Verbal Engagement with Personal Voice Assistants on Alleviating Loneliness among Older Adults: An Exploratory Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Article
- The use of technology to address loneliness and social isolation among older adults: the role of social care providers.BMC public health · 2024Article
- What kind of a problem is loneliness? Representations of connectedness and participation from a study of telepresence technologies in the UK.Frontiers in digital health · 2024Article
- Socially connected while apart: the use of technology to increase social connection between nursing home residents and their relatives.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Epidemic-Prevention Measures and Health Management in a Nursing Home during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOlder people in care may be lonely with insufficient contact if families are unable to visit. Face-to-face contact through video-calls may help reduce loneliness, but little is known about the processes of engaging people in care environments in using video-calls. We aimed to identify the barriers to and facilitators of implementing video-calls for older people in care environments.
methodsA collaborative action research (CAR) approach was taken to implement a video-call intervention in care environments. We undertook five steps of recruitment, planning, implementation, reflection and re-evaluation, in seven care homes and one hospital in the UK. The video-call intervention 'Skype on Wheels' (SoW) comprised a wheeled device that could hold an iPad and handset, and used Skype to provide a free video-call service. Care staff were collaborators who implemented the intervention within the care-setting by agreeing the intervention, recruiting older people and their family, and setting up video-calls. Field notes and reflective diaries on observations and conversations with staff, older people and family were maintained over 15 months, and analysed using thematic analysis.
resultsFour care homes implemented the intervention. Eight older people with their respective social contacts made use of video-calls. Older people were able to use SoW with assistance from staff, and enjoyed the use of video-calls to stay better connected with family. However five barriers towards implementation included staff turnover, risk averseness, the SoW design, lack of family commitment and staff attitudes regarding technology.
conclusionsThe SoW intervention, or something similar, could aid older people to stay better connected with their families in care environments, but if implemented as part of a rigorous evaluation, then co-production of the intervention at each recruitment site may be needed to overcome barriers and maximise engagement.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.