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Long-term care need, loneliness, and perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the German Ageing Survey
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Long-term care need, loneliness, and perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the German Ageing Survey

André Hajek, Katharina Grupp, Ghazal Aarabi, Razak Mohammed Gyasi, Rosanne Freak-Poli, Benedikt Kretzler and Hans-Helmut König
Aging clinical and experimental research, Vol.35, pp.1377-1384
26/04/2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-023-02411-0
PMID: 37099237
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Long‑term care need, loneliness, and perceived social isolation during the COVID‑19 pandemic: evidence from the German Ageing Survey472.70 kBDownloadView
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0,  Open Access
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Long‑term care need, loneliness, and perceived social isolation during the COVID‑19 pandemic: evidence from the German Ageing SurveyView
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Abstract

Care degree Functional impairment Social isolation Functional dependence Loneliness Social exclusion Autonomy Care level Long-term care
Background There is a complete lack of studies focusing on the association between care degree (reflecting the long-term care need) and loneliness or social isolation in Germany. Aims To investigate the association between care degree and loneliness as well as perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We used data from the nationally representative German Ageing Survey, which covers community-dwelling middle-aged and older individuals aged 40 years or over. We used wave 8 of the German Ageing Survey (analytical sample: n = 4334 individuals, mean age was 68.9 years, SD: 10.2 years; range 46–100 years). To assess loneliness, the De Jong Gierveld instrument was used. To assess perceived social isolation, the Bude and Lantermann instrument was used. Moreover, the level of care was used as a key independent variable (absence of care degree (0); care degree 1–5). Results After adjusting for various covariates, regressions showed that there were no significant differences between individuals without a care degree and individuals with a care degree of 1 or 2 in terms of loneliness and perceived social isolation. In contrast, individuals with a care degree of 3 or 4 had higher loneliness (β = 0.23, p = 0.034) and higher perceived social isolation scores (β = 0.38, p < 0.01) compared to individuals without a care degree. Discussion/conclusions Care degrees of 3 or 4 are associated with higher levels of both loneliness and perceived social isolation. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm this association.

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