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Lookup NU author(s): Emeritus Professor Thomas Scharf
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Objectives: An aggregated interventional N-of-1 or single-case design was used to assess the impact of a befriending intervention on a) health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), and b) the association between loneliness on HR-QoL among older adults. Methods: Participants were n = 33 new users of the service, aged 60 +. Outcomes were measured at 13 timepoints across 26 weeks, and data were analyzed using generalized additive modeling (GAM) with a subset of data analyzed using supplementary visual analysis. Results: Results indicate that the befriending service may reduce decline of HR-QoL (i.e. HR-QoL declined in the baseline phase over time: edf = 3.893, F = 3.0, p =.002, while in the treatment phase, HR-QoL remained more stable: edf = 5.98, F = 2.98, p =.008). The intervention also suppressed the impact of loneliness on HR-QoL. Conclusions: Befriending interventions may prevent declines in HR-QoL, and may moderate the impact of loneliness on HR-QoL. Clinical Implications: Our preliminary findings suggest that befriending services may be useful if clinicians have concerns about the health impacts of loneliness for older people. It is difficult to evaluate community-based services, and we consider the challenges we faced, with a view to assisting others planning similar evaluations.
Author(s): McHugh Power J, Holton E, Lawlor BA, Kee F, Scharf T, Moynihan S, Kelly ME, Hannigan C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Clinical Gerontologist
Year: 2025
Pages: Epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 21/03/2025
Acceptance date: 02/04/2018
Date deposited: 08/04/2025
ISSN (print): 0731-7115
ISSN (electronic): 1545-2301
Publisher: Routledge
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2025.2481124
DOI: 10.1080/07317115.2025.2481124
Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, JMcHP. The data are not publicly available due to restrictions on the ethical approval received by the team.
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