Inactive Residents Living in Nursing Homes and Associated Predictors: Findings From a Regional-Based, Italian Retrospective Study

Intergenerational Programs Involving Adolescents, Institutionalized Elderly, and Older Volunteers: Results from a Pilot Research-Action in Italy

“…It can be argued that the adolescents in the nursing home distracted the lady from her depressive anxiety and persuaded her to sit down, play with teenagers, and interact with them, albeit for a limited time. If we consider that depression is a loneliness correlated disorder quite commonly found among institutionalized older people [82–84] and that experts suggest the adoption of psychosocial interventions for its prevention [17, 85], this unexpected result of the study suggests that psychosocial interventions based on intergenerational relationships can be effective in preventing the onset of depression among residents of nursing homes with fewer emotional ties.…”

“…Another novelty was bringing the elders out of the residential facility: once to school, twice to the conference room of the city Municipality building, twice to the headquarters of the voluntary associations, and one last time to participate in the final event open to policy makers and citizens. These visits helped older people overcome the wall of isolation from the rest of the community that is partly the consequence of the persistence of age-segregated services and of the lack of economic and human resources for social animation, leisure, and social interaction, especially in Italy [17–20]. This pilot study, therefore, provides important information on the condition of social isolation of the institutionalized elderly people in Italy and, at the same time, identifies in IGPs a possible tool for boosting their inclusion into the community.…”

“…A minority of Italian households, corresponding to no more than 2% of the over 65-year-old population ( Istituto Nazionale di Statistica [ISTAT], National Institute of Statistics [16]), resorts to residential facilities for their older family members, which usually host older people with high levels of disability and without family network support and thus provide mainly medical and nursing care. These do not, however, provide sufficient psychosocial educational activities leaving most of the residents without motivating instances [17]. The only interpersonal relationships of the nursing home residents are often those with the healthcare professionals, whereas the contacts with the outside world, e.g., with volunteers, are very rare [17], causing older people to experience social isolation and emotional impoverishment [18–20].…”

“…These do not, however, provide sufficient psychosocial educational activities leaving most of the residents without motivating instances [17]. The only interpersonal relationships of the nursing home residents are often those with the healthcare professionals, whereas the contacts with the outside world, e.g., with volunteers, are very rare [17], causing older people to experience social isolation and emotional impoverishment [18–20]. Institutionalized older people, therefore, can be considered among the most excluded social groups in Italy because when they enter the residential facility, every interaction which could lead to nurturing thoughts and behaviours aimed at the intergenerational solidarity is hindered.…”

Daily crying prevalence and associated factors in older adult persons living in nursing homes: findings from a regional study

“…Jutkowitz et al ., ) have been widely studied. According to our study, which represents a specific research line inside a larger regional study (PENSA, Palese et al ., ), around one resident out of six of those living in NHs reported at least one episode of crying on a daily basis in the last month; however, given the lack of available studies in the field (Zarowitz and O'Shea, ; Foley et al ., ), limited comparison is possible. Moreover, we have adopted a pragmatic approach (Gaglio et al ., ), including episodes as documented by RNs without any distinction between pathological and non‐pathological crying.…”