The Effect of Par ticipation in Group Leisure Time Activities on Loneliness and General Health of Elderly Widowed Women: A Clinical Trial

Loneliness is one of the common aging problems that can influence general health. Group activities with peers have a significant impact on the psychosocial well-being of the elderly people. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of participation in group leisure time activities on loneliness and general health of elderly widowed women

This clinical trial study was conducted on 64 elderly widowed women referred to health centers of Jiroft, Iran, 2018. The samples were chosen randomly according to the inclusion criteria. Then they were randomly divided in two groups of intervention (32 individuals) and control (32 individuals) in a simple random way. In the intervention group, eight sessions of group leisure time activities (2 sessions for 2 hours per week) were performed. There was no intervention in the control group during the study. Data were collected before and two weeks after intervention by UCLA-LS and GHQ-28 questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using independent t-test and paired t-test.

Before intervention the average score of loneliness and general health had no significant statistical difference between the two groups (p>0.05). But after the intervention, the difference between the average score of loneliness in the intervention group (27.25±5.86) compared with the control group (40.90±14.68) and also between the average score of general health in the intervention group (17.62±6.04) compared with the control group (29.06±7.66) was found statistically significant (p<0.001).

Participation in group leisure time activities can be used as an effective intervention to decrease loneliness and increase general health in elderly people.