Efficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health—insights from a natural experiment during the COVID-19 lockdown
Abstract Loneliness and associated physical and cognitive health decline among the aging population is an important medical concern, exacerbated in times of abnormal isolation like the 2020–2021 Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. In this backdrop, recent “social prescribing” based health policy initiatives...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-75262-y |
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| author | Ryka C. Chopra Suma Chakrabarthi Ishir Narayan Suparna Chakraborty |
| author_facet | Ryka C. Chopra Suma Chakrabarthi Ishir Narayan Suparna Chakraborty |
| author_sort | Ryka C. Chopra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Loneliness and associated physical and cognitive health decline among the aging population is an important medical concern, exacerbated in times of abnormal isolation like the 2020–2021 Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. In this backdrop, recent “social prescribing” based health policy initiatives such as community groups as a support structure for the aging population assumes great importance. In this paper, we evaluate and quantify the impact of such social prescribing policies in combatting loneliness and related health degeneration of the aging population in times of abnormal isolation. To this end, we conduct a natural experiment across a sample of 618 individuals aged 65 and over with varying access to community groups during the Covid-19 lockdown period. Using a random-effects, probit model to compare the differences in health outcomes of participants with access to community groups (target) with those without access (control), we find that the target group was 2.65 times less likely to suffer from loneliness as compared to the control group, along with lower incidences of reported cardiovascular and cognitive health decline. These initial findings provide preliminary support in favor of the interventional power of social prescription tools in mitigating loneliness and its consequent negative health impact on the aging population. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e6148b35874a4a43990a1482f7b1e0fb |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-e6148b35874a4a43990a1482f7b1e0fb2025-08-20T03:03:58ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-10-0114111510.1038/s41598-024-75262-yEfficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health—insights from a natural experiment during the COVID-19 lockdownRyka C. Chopra0Suma Chakrabarthi1Ishir Narayan2Suparna Chakraborty3Mission San Jose High SchoolDepartment of Radiology and Imaging, Peerless Hospital and B.K. Roy Research CenterImperial CollegeCollege of Arts and Sciences, University of San FranciscoAbstract Loneliness and associated physical and cognitive health decline among the aging population is an important medical concern, exacerbated in times of abnormal isolation like the 2020–2021 Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. In this backdrop, recent “social prescribing” based health policy initiatives such as community groups as a support structure for the aging population assumes great importance. In this paper, we evaluate and quantify the impact of such social prescribing policies in combatting loneliness and related health degeneration of the aging population in times of abnormal isolation. To this end, we conduct a natural experiment across a sample of 618 individuals aged 65 and over with varying access to community groups during the Covid-19 lockdown period. Using a random-effects, probit model to compare the differences in health outcomes of participants with access to community groups (target) with those without access (control), we find that the target group was 2.65 times less likely to suffer from loneliness as compared to the control group, along with lower incidences of reported cardiovascular and cognitive health decline. These initial findings provide preliminary support in favor of the interventional power of social prescription tools in mitigating loneliness and its consequent negative health impact on the aging population.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-75262-yCovid-19Social isolationLonelinessCognitive declineSocial prescriptionCommunity groups |
| spellingShingle | Ryka C. Chopra Suma Chakrabarthi Ishir Narayan Suparna Chakraborty Efficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health—insights from a natural experiment during the COVID-19 lockdown Scientific Reports Covid-19 Social isolation Loneliness Cognitive decline Social prescription Community groups |
| title | Efficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health—insights from a natural experiment during the COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_full | Efficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health—insights from a natural experiment during the COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_fullStr | Efficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health—insights from a natural experiment during the COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health—insights from a natural experiment during the COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_short | Efficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health—insights from a natural experiment during the COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_sort | efficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health insights from a natural experiment during the covid 19 lockdown |
| topic | Covid-19 Social isolation Loneliness Cognitive decline Social prescription Community groups |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-75262-y |
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