Understanding the psychological experiences of loneliness in later life: qualitative protocol to inform technology development

TY - JOUR

T1 - Understanding the psychological experiences of loneliness in later life

T2 - qualitative protocol to inform technology development

AU - Rees, Jessica

AU - Liu, Wei

AU - Ourselin, Sebastien

AU - Shi, Yu

AU - Probst, Freya

AU - Antonelli, Michela

AU - Tinker, Anthea

AU - Matcham, Faith

N1 - Funding Information: This work is supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (ESPRC) and the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) (grant number: EP/W031434/1; EP/W031442/1). Publisher Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.

PY - 2023/6/19

Y1 - 2023/6/19

N2 - Objectives: Loneliness is a public health issue impacting the health and well-being of older adults. This protocol focuses on understanding the psychological experiences of loneliness in later life to inform technology development as part of the 'Design for health ageing: a smart system to detect loneliness in older people' (DELONELINESS) study. Methods and analysis: Data will be collected from semi-structured interviews with up to 60 people over the age of 65 on their experiences of loneliness and preferences for sensor-based technologies. The interviews will be audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using a thematic codebook approach on NVivo software. Ethics and dissemination: This study has received ethical approval by Research Ethics Committee's at King's College London (reference number: LRS/DP-21/22-33376) and the University of Sussex (reference number: ER/JH878/1). All participants will be required to provide informed consent. Results will be used to inform technology development within the DELONELINESS study and will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications and conferences.

AB - Objectives: Loneliness is a public health issue impacting the health and well-being of older adults. This protocol focuses on understanding the psychological experiences of loneliness in later life to inform technology development as part of the 'Design for health ageing: a smart system to detect loneliness in older people' (DELONELINESS) study. Methods and analysis: Data will be collected from semi-structured interviews with up to 60 people over the age of 65 on their experiences of loneliness and preferences for sensor-based technologies. The interviews will be audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using a thematic codebook approach on NVivo software. Ethics and dissemination: This study has received ethical approval by Research Ethics Committee's at King's College London (reference number: LRS/DP-21/22-33376) and the University of Sussex (reference number: ER/JH878/1). All participants will be required to provide informed consent. Results will be used to inform technology development within the DELONELINESS study and will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications and conferences.

KW - geriatric medicine

KW - mental health

KW - protocols & guidelines

KW - public health

KW - qualitative research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85162700158&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072420

DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072420

M3 - Article

C2 - 37336536

AN - SCOPUS:85162700158

SN - 2044-6055

VL - 13

JO - BMJ Open

JF - BMJ Open

IS - 6

M1 - e072420

ER -