Loneliness Group Intervention

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this pilot study is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a group loneliness intervention in geriatric psychiatry inpatients. This type of group loneliness intervention is based on functional analytic psychotherapy and is called Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups.

Detailed Description
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The objective of our clinical trial is to adapt, implement, and evaluate a type of loneliness group intervention called Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups for older adults in a psychiatric unit. The following research questions will be answered: (a) Are such loneliness groups with geriatric psychiatry inpatients feasible and acceptable? (b) Do such loneliness groups demonstrate preliminary efficacy?

Official Title
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Loneliness Group Intervention for Geriatric Psychiatry Inpatients

Conditions
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Loneliness

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups
* Other: Mutual Help Meetings


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Admission to geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit Exclusion Criteria: Individuals who are disoriented to person, delirious, unable to tolerate or participate meaningfully in the group, or otherwise unable to provide consent to research and psychotherapy

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Treatment<br>Treatment group will receive Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups for loneliness. | Behavioral: Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups<br>* Groups based on the Awareness, Courage, and Love framework from functional analytic psychotherapy<br>|
| Active Comparator: Control<br>Control group will receive treatment as usual in the form of Mutual Help Meetings. | Other: Mutual Help Meetings<br>* Groups based on treatment as usual where patients gather to discuss how they can help others on the ward, and make requests for how others can help them.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale (IOS) | Brief single-item pictorial measure of social closeness. The minimum value is 1, the maximum value is 7, and higher scores indicate a better outcome. | Up to 2 months | 
| UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) | Brief measure of loneliness. The minimum value is 6, the maximum value is 24, and higher scores indicate a worse outcome. | Up to 2 months | 
| Relational Health Indices (RHI) | Brief measure of group relational health. The minimum value is 8, the maximum value is 40, and higher scores indicate a better outcome. | Up to 2 months | 
| Quantitative Program Satisfaction | Brief measure of program satisfaction. The minimum value is 0, the maximum value is 16, and higher scores indicate a better outcome. | Up to 2 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale | 1 item pictorial scale of subjective wellbeing from 0 (minimum) to 10 (maximum). A higher score indicates a better outcome. | Up to 2 months | 
| Sacred Moment Qualities (SMQ) | Brief measure of perceived sacred qualities, adapted from Pargament et al. (2014). The minimum value is 11, the maximum value is 55, and higher scores indicate a better outcome. | Up to 2 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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loneliness, geriatric, functional analytic psychotherapy