Promoting Communication Strategies for Seniors during Pandemics

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic government regulations and mandates have caused feelings of overload, isolation, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. This project aimed to evaluate the level of impact of social distancing and homestay mandates on seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The knowledge from the data guided the implementation of Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a focused intervention to address loneliness, social isolation, and depression among seniors. Methods: Quantitative reviews were employed to assess the impact of ICT on lonely seniors. A convenience sample of 5 seniors aged 65 and up from a local church congregating in worship center located in southwestern United States enrolled in this voluntary pre-and post-educational intervention project. Participants were informed of the confidentiality of the study and that the study had no known risks on participants. The participants willingly signed a consent for the study. The attendees received two one-hour education sessions on how to use WhatsApp and Zoom as communication strategies. The pre-and post-loneliness scale scores were collected using the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale as a tool. Results were compared before and after the educational intervention using a paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The results indicate significant reductions in reported loneliness from pre to post intervention (z = -2.02, p = 0.043). These results indicate that using ICT can help address loneliness in the seniors. Conclusion: Implementing communication strategies such as WhatsApp and Zoom effectively addresses social isolation and loneliness in seniors. The data reveals that integrating electronic communication in the life of the seniors can manage the social isolation problem. Future nursing practices may benefit from the project's data to address loneliness in the seniors.