According to a spot from the 90s, a phone call extends life and now a study by the Italian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics, conducted during the first lockdown last spring in a medium-low intensity ward of the Sant’Andrea hospital in Rome, demonstrates which literally does: relieve the solitude of the elderly hospitalized with a phone call to family members turned out to be a real one therapy, such as to reduce mortality.
Measurable benefits
In those who were able to have contact with their loved ones, with the same age and clinical treatment, mortality dropped from 40 to 20 percent and Raffaele Antonelli Incalzi, former president of Sigg, explains: Banning hospital visits has slowed the spread of the infection from Covid-19, but the isolation that followed had very negative effects on the physical and mental health of the elderly. However, this damage can be mitigated by giving the opportunity to have quality communication with family and friends through video calls.
Technological barriers
Twenty-two percent of the sample analyzed did not have a mobile phone and with increasing age the likelihood of owning one decreased, furthermore 6 out of 10 patients had an old model without a camera and 16% would need help to make a video call. This is why, as Incalzi specifies, a tablet and specialized personnel to help the elderly to video call their loved ones, overcoming the technological obstacles of cognitive deficits, insufficient eyesight or inability to use the equipment on their own.
April 24, 2021 (change April 24, 2021 | 20:13)
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