an evaluation of the effectiveness of a community mentoring service for socially isolated older people a controlled trial评估社区辅导服务的有效性的社会孤立老年人对照试验.pdfVIP

Dickens et al. BMC Public Health 2011, 11:218 /1471-2458/11/218 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access An evaluation of the effectiveness of a community mentoring service for socially isolated older people: a controlled trial 1* 1 2 1,2 1 2 Andy P Dickens , Suzanne H Richards , Annie Hawton , Rod S Taylor , Colin J Greaves , Colin Green , Rachel Edwards1 and John L Campbell1 Abstract Background: Social isolation affects a significant proportion of older people and is associated with poor health outcomes. The current evidence base regarding the effectiveness of interventions targeting social isolation is poor, and the potential utility of mentoring for this purpose has not previously been rigorously evaluated. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a community-based mentoring service for improving mental health, social engagement and physical health for socially isolated older people. Methods: This prospective controlled trial compared a sample of mentoring service clients (intervention group) with a matched control group recruited through general practice. One hundred and ninety five participants from each group were matched on mental wellbeing and social activity scores. Assessments were conducted at baseline and at six month follow-up. The primary outcome was the Short Form Health Survey v2 (SF-12) mental health component score (MCS). Secondary outcomes included the SF-12 physical health component score (PCS), EuroQol EQ-5D, Geriatric Depression Score (GDS-10), social activity, social support and morbidities. Results: We found no evidence that mentoring was beneficial across a wide range of participant outcomes measuring health status, social activity and depression.