UNDERSTANDING LONELINESS IN AUSTRALIAN RURAL AGEING POPULATIONS: A MIXED METHODS APPROACH

Utilising data from six Australian rural regions, this mixed-methods study sought to understand both the predictors of loneliness, and how loneliness is constructed among diverse rural ageing populations. At stage one, cross sectional data was collected via a telephone survey (n=266), with measures...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Innovation in aging 2017-07, Vol.1 (suppl_1), p.103-103
Main Authors: Hodgkin, S., Winterton, R., Warburton, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abstracts
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Utilising data from six Australian rural regions, this mixed-methods study sought to understand both the predictors of loneliness, and how loneliness is constructed among diverse rural ageing populations. At stage one, cross sectional data was collected via a telephone survey (n=266), with measures relating to wellness, health, social capital, social ties and reciprocal support, and loneliness. This was followed by qualitative, semi structured interviews (n=60), which sought to expand on the quantitative findings. A standard multiple regression found that wellness, mental and physical health, support received and community characteristics predicted 38.5% of the variability seen in loneliness. Other variables, (age, gender, social and community participation) did not contribute to the amount of variability in loneliness scores. This presentation critically discusses these findings in the context of the qualitative data relating to loneliness, and highlights how rural older adults construct loneliness in relation to micro and macro environmental characteristics.
ISSN:2399-5300
2399-5300
DOI:10.1093/geroni/igx004.428