Social Connection and Psychosocial Adjustment among Older Male Veterans Who Return to the Community from VA Nursing Homes

ABSTRACT

Objectives

The goal of this study was to examine psychosocial adjustment following transition from the nursing home (NH) to community and understand the ways in which adjustment intersects with social connection.

Methods

We conducted interviews with community-dwelling older male Veterans after they were discharged from an NH. Interviews focused on Veterans’ experience during the transition process. We utilized conventional content analysis to inductively code the interviews. We reviewed evidence in each identified domain for common themes.

Results

We interviewed 13 NH residents after recent transitions from the NH back to the community. Four themes were identified: (1) access to and quality of social support network are important for social connection, (2) engagement in meaningful activities with family and friends improves well-being, (3) service providers form link to social connection, and (4) external stressors affect the quality of social connections.

Conclusions

Identified themes aligned with respondents’ social connectedness and perceived psychosocial and physical well-being. Our results suggest that social connectedness is one part of the larger milieu of healthy aging including the importance of engagement with social opportunities and having a purpose.

Clinical implications

Social connectedness is critical to assess for older adults transitioning between care settings. Developing screening tools and other interventions focused on social isolation are needed.

KEYWORDS:

• Social connectedness
• older adults
• transitions of care
• long-term care
• qualitative

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Rachel Riendeau, Gregory Reeves, and Alicia Williamson for project management. In addition, we thank Dr. Patricia Bamonti for collecting Veteran data and Bob Hoover for compiling demographic and health-related data presented in this article. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Simons PI).