Medical Student Social Calls to Isolated Older Adults: A Pilot Study

• Published in: The American journal of geriatric psychiatry 2023-03, Vol.31 (3), p.S80-S80
• Main Authors: Weerasuriya, Singi, Chen, Jamie, Peltier, Morgan, Ambalu, Naomi, Stern, Robert
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1064-7481; 1545-7214
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jagp.2022.12.244

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified social isolation and loneliness among older adults, a quarter of whom were considered socially isolated prior to the pandemic (Wu 2020). Inspired by a Columbia University student initiative (Nathanson et al. 2021), students at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine [HMSOM] formed a new medical school volunteer club, the “Phone Pal Program.” The program matches medical student volunteers [MSV] with isolated seniors in the community to engage in social phone calls. Similar programs have been reported to have beneficial effects on both the participating older adults and volunteering students (Office et al. 2020). Ageism is a growing concern in our society, leading to poorer outcomes in older adults and highlighting gaps in medical school curricula (Mikton et. al, 2021). The MSVs and older adults engaged in phone calls for three months, and we collected data, including: (1) independent post-surveys of the participating MSVs and the older adults to assess their perception of the program, (2) pre and post ageism questionnaire replies completed by the MSVs, and (3) ageism questionnaire replies provided by a group of non-participating control students at the beginning and end of the project period. Setup of the MSV club took over six months, with advising from faculty, student affairs leadership, and legal review. Once the program received formal approval, older adults reporting isolation or loneliness to their geriatric psychiatrist at participating outpatient clinics were invited to join the Phone Pal Program. HMSOM students were recruited as volunteers, and after undergoing a training course, were each matched with a consenting older adult. The MSVs and older adults engaged in bi-weekly social calls over three months. Volunteers submitted digital logs of their phone calls and were provided with feedback from faculty and student club leadership throughout the program period. The Phone Pal Program team was supported by a team including psychiatrists, social workers, and residents. A digital survey incorporating qualitative and quantitative elements, including questions about background experiences with older adults (e.g., home life, work experience), characterization of older adults, and the Ambivalent Ageism Scale [AAS] (Cary et. al, 2017), was administered before and after the three-month period to the MSVs and the non-participating control student group. Baseline data was compared using t-tests and Fisher's exact tests as ap