2023-07-07 14:20:28
by Ruggiero Corcella
The results of a study conducted in South Africa: the relationship with children allows the elderly to feel connected to the community and to experience a strong sense of belonging
The presence of children in nursing homes might seem counterintuitive to some and it is easy to think of them more as a disturbing factor than a positive one. A study conducted in South Africa and published in PLOS ONE instead it opens a different perspective: programs that promote interaction between residents and children could provide mental health benefits and help manage common mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression.
Factors contributing to anxiety and depression
To further understand the potential benefits of cross-generational interactions, Elizabeth Jane Earl and Debbie Marais of Stellenbosch University in South Africa conducted a study in a nursing home where residents can interact regularly with children attending a local nursery school . Activities include playing games, jigsaw puzzles, reading or singing with the children. The program aligned with an aged care model called Eden Alternative, developed in 1991 that aims to minimize contributing factors to anxiety and depression.
The researchers asked residents to fill out a questionnaire rating their levels of anxiety and depression and asked them to describe their experiences with the children. Ten women with anxiety disorders or depression participated. All of the women had some interactions with the preschoolers, although some had more than others. Overall, participants reported positive experiences with children.
The results of the research
Analysis of their responses suggests that the interactions promoted a sense of belonging and purpose, a fond memory of one’s childhood, and positive effects on mood and emotions. Participants had various preconceptions about the children, which could have influenced their individual experiences with the program. Based on these findings, the researchers conclude that intergenerational interaction programs have the potential to help manage common mental health conditions for nursing home residents. They outline recommendations for implementing such programs and call for larger studies to further explore potential benefits.
Studies in Italy
And in Italy? Could an approach like the one suggested by the study carried out in South Africa find application?. Life in homes for the elderly, its advantages and its limitations are at the center of attention of our communities, at least of those most sensitive to the duty to guarantee the dignity and freedom of frail elderly people – comments Professor Marco Trabucchi, scientific director of the Geriatric Research Group of Brescia and past president of theItalian Association of Psychogeriatrics. Scientific literature in the geriatric and gerontological fields continues to publish theoretical studies and experiments which, in various fields, aim to improve the life of the guests of the residences; the recent negative (and unnecessarily aggressive) controversies on the role of nursing homes in Italy have also contributed to stimulating studies and research, creating a substrate of attention and dedication that is also useful in terms of practical implications. Perhaps we cannot expect rapid and revolutionary changes, but the continuous proposition of new ideas and projects will lead to important results, which many of us feel the need for as operators and scholars.
Quality of life in nursing homes and social isolation
The reading of the work is particularly stimulating due to the original ways of dealing with the problems connected with the quality of life and health in the residences; one perceives a cultural vision that makes one think a lot – continues the expert -. In fact, the introduction lists a series of principles whose actualization could improve the quality of life of the residents. They range from indicating, among the various possible advantages, a close and continuous contact with plants, animals and children to build a human habitat, to the importance of company to overcome loneliness, to giving and receiving attention and care as an antidote to loss of hope, to variety and spontaneity as antidotes to boredom, to the sense of existence as essential to living, to the fact that medical care is part of the cure, not the guide. The study on the consequences of the presence of children fits precisely into this logic and demonstrates important positive effects on mental health.
Children are the bridge to society as a whole
The relationship with children allows the elderly to feel connected to the community and to experience a strong sense of belonging, avoiding the experience that often prevails in the life of the guests of the residences, i.e. the feeling of being in a separate world, devoid of the vivacity and stimuli produced from life with others. In fact, children are builders of connections with the whole of society and its dynamics; the elderly thus increases their self-esteem, with the consequent improvement in mood. In summary, it can be said that the presence of children in the residences increases the sense of belonging to the family and to other social realities, the sensation of having a purpose for one’s life and therefore an identity. Furthermore, it stimulates the memory of their youth in the elderly, making them forget their current condition of fragility; finally, it stimulates emotion, the feeling of love towards others and from others which, too often, disappears in the routine of days that are all the same, devoid of any attraction and emotional closeness with other people, he concludes.
July 7, 2023 (change July 7, 2023 | 2:20 pm)
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