ArticleJournal of the American Medical Directors Association2021
Social Connection in Long-Term Care Homes: A Scoping Review of Published Research on the Mental Health Impacts and Potential Strategies During COVID-19.
Article in Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
66 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Global perspectives on challenges, coping strategies, and future preparedness of nursing home staff during COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-synthesis.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- Health effects of social connectedness in older adults living in congregate long-term care settings: A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative evidence.International journal of older people nursing · 2023Pooled it
- Interventions Associated With Reduced Loneliness and Social Isolation in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2022Pooled it
- Non-pharmacological measures implemented in the setting of long-term care facilities to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections and their consequences: a rapid review.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Quality of life, pain and use of analgesic, anxiolytic and antidepressant medication, in people living in care homes.Age and ageing · 2024Trial
- Clowning in care: long-term effectiveness of clown visits on residents' affect, resilience, sleep quality and functionality.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Depression, anxiety, anger, and loneliness in older adults: comparing residential contexts and examining the role of loneliness.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Association Between State Essential Caregiver Programs and Antipsychotic Medication Use Rate in Nursing Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2026Article
- Digital Technologies That Support Meaningful Connections in Care Homes: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Patterns of depressive symptoms among older adults living in long-term care homes in China: a latent class analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Transitions to Long-Term Care for People Living with Dementia: Social Death and Social (Dis) Connections.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2025Article
- Family visits among nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Personal and Organizational Factors as Predictors of Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults in Long-Term Care Settings.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Taking Action to Support Nursing Home Resident Well-Being: Perspectives of U.S. Nursing Home Staff During COVID-19.The Gerontologist · 2024Article
- The prevalence of, and factors associated with, a risk of depression in residential aged care services residents: Findings from the FIRST study.Australasian journal on ageing · 2024Article
- Social connection in long-term care homes: a qualitative study of barriers and facilitators.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- Caregiving in long-term care before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.European geriatric medicine · 2024Article
- Embracing Connection: A Review of First-Ever Clinical Guidelines on Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Older people's experience and related factors while receiving home-based long-term care services: a qualitative study.BMC nursing · 2024Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesGood social connection is associated with better health and wellbeing. However, social connection has distinct considerations for people living in long-term care (LTC) homes. The objective of this scoping review was to summarize research literature linking social connection to mental health outcomes, specifically among LTC residents, as well as research to identify strategies to help build and maintain social connection in this population during COVID-19.
designScoping review. SETTINGS AND
participantsResidents of LTC homes, care homes, and nursing homes.
methodsWe searched MEDLINE(R) ALL (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), PsycINFO (Ovid), Scopus, Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest), Embase and Embase Classic (Ovid), Emcare Nursing (Ovid), and AgeLine (EBSCO) for research that quantified an aspect of social connection among LTC residents; we limited searches to English-language articles published from database inception to search date (July 2019). For the current analysis, we included studies that reported (1) the association between social connection and a mental health outcome, (2) the association between a modifiable risk factor and social connection, or (3) intervention studies with social connection as an outcome. From studies in (2) and (3), we identified strategies that could be implemented and adapted by LTC residents, families and staff during COVID-19 and included the articles that informed these strategies.
resultsWe included 133 studies in our review. We found 61 studies that tested the association between social connection and a mental health outcome. We highlighted 12 strategies, informed by 72 observational and intervention studies, that might help LTC residents, families, and staff build and maintain social connection for LTC residents. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Published research conducted among LTC residents has linked good social connection to better mental health outcomes. Observational and intervention studies provide some evidence on approaches to address social connection in this population. Although further research is needed, it does not obviate the need to act given the sudden and severe impact of COVID-19 on social connection in LTC residents.
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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.