Good social connectedness is associated with better physical and mental health and wellbeing. However, the concepts of social connectedness and strategies to address it have distinct considerations for people living in long-term care (LTC) homes.

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The purpose of this report is to provide strategies, identified from published research and illustrated with stakeholder input (including a provincial survey), that can help to build and maintain social connections in LTC residents. These strategies can be used by LTC home staff, families and residents anytime, but the examples are given to highlight ways they might be adapted in the current context of COVID-19 or to help plan for other infectious disease outbreaks.

This scoping review summarizes research literature linking social connectedness to mental health outcomes, specifically among LTC residents, as well as observational and interventional research that might identify strategies to build and maintain social connectedness in this population.

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on long-term care (LTC) homes in Canada. But the measures put in place to control infection within LTC homes have also had devastating impacts on the health and well-being of residents through the effects on social connection. Here, we offer guiding principles to enable social connection and promote health and quality of life for LTC residents during COVID-19 and beyond. These principles were generated by a working group of the COVID-19 and Dementia Task Force, convened by the Alzheimer Society of Canada to identify the urgent and emerging issues raised by COVID-19 for Canadians with dementia. 

Presenters: Jennifer Bethell, PhD, Epidemiologist and Health Services Researcher, Co-lead of the Engagement of People with Lived Experience of Dementia, Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration and Aging; and Katelynn Viau Aelick, MSc., Project Coordinator, Behavioural Supports Ontario Provincial Coordinating Office. 

Social connection is recognized as an important determinant of health and well-being. The negative health impacts of poor social connection have been reported in research in older adults, however, less is known about the health impacts for those living in long-term care (LTC) homes. This review seeks to identify and summarize existing research to address the question: what is known from the literature about the association between social connection and physical health outcomes for people living in LTC homes?

Social connection is associated with better physical and mental health and is an important aspect of the quality of care for nursing home residents. The primary objective of this scoping review was to answer the question: what nursing home and community characteristics have been tested as predictors of social connection in nursing home residents? The secondary objective was to describe the measures of social connection used in these studies.