Level of Education of Students Involved

Undergraduate

Faculty Sponsor

Constance Sheets

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College

College of Nursing & Health Professions (CONHP)

Discipline(s)

Nursing

ORCID Identifier(s)

N/A

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 4-30-2026

Abstract

Background: As loneliness negatively impacts older adults who move into assisted living, staff need to detect and manage loneliness with tailored interventions (Horgan et al., 2024; Sun et al., 2021). Healthcare professionals view loneliness as individualized experiences triggered by different coping mechanisms, negatively affecting older adults' health (Dobarrio-San et al.). Few articles were found that considered the staff’s viewpoint on loneliness during the transition period. The purpose of this study is to interview staff to gain their perspective on the challenges residents face during their move into an assisted living facility.

Methods: This study uses a qualitative approach to interview staff members currently working with older adults who recently moved to an assisted living facility. The team interviewed 11 licensed/unlicensed personnel working in two different facilities in Northwest Indiana. Each interview consists of seven open-ended questions. Interviews were recorded and transcribed by a professional transcriptionist. The constant comparative method was used to identify major themes within the data.

Results: Preliminary categories include continuity of care, connecting with residents, and transitioning goes well.

Conclusion: There is an increasing need to support the aging population and improve the quality of individualized healthcare services (Anvik et al., 2020) to combat loneliness. It is important for licensed and unlicensed personnel to assess older adults' perceptions of loneliness. Perceptions of loneliness can differ between personnel and residents who recently moved to assisted living facilities (Dobbarrio-San et al.). Staff can assist residents in transitioning to assisted living by individualizing care and providing continual socialization assessments.

Keywords: loneliness, older adults, social isolation, assisted living, healthcare staff

Biographical Information about Author(s)

The team includes seniors, juniors, and sophomores who collaborate to gather information about our research. 

For Artistic Presentations

N/A

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