'It makes life worthwhile!' Peer mentoring in long-term care—a feasibility study

Abstract

Objectives: Loneliness and depression are of increasing concern in long-term care homes made more urgent by viral outbreak isolation protocols. An innovative program called Java Mentorship was developed that engaged community volunteers and resident volunteers (mentors) as a team. The team met weekly, received education, and provided visits and guidance in pairs to socially disengaged residents (mentees). The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of conducting a larger study.

Method: We conducted a mixed-methods pre-post study to evaluate the program. We collected feasibility data associated with the program implementation, including assessment of the sample and ability to recruit; procedures for data collection; retention, program adherence and acceptability; and residents’ responses including loneliness, depression, purpose in life, social identity and sense of belonging outcomes. We enrolled community mentors (n = 65), resident mentors (n = 48) staff facilitators (n = 24) and mentees (n = 74) in 10 Canadian sites.

Results: Most feasibility objectives were met, and adherence and acceptability were high. Some resource challenges and low retention rates among resident mentors were noted. We found a 29% reduction in depression scores (p = .048; d = .30) and 15% reduction in loneliness scores (p = .014; d = .23). Purpose in life, social identity and sense of belonging were unchanged. Interviews among participants indicated high acceptability and positive perceptions of the program.

Conclusion: The study findings reveal a potential role for mentorship as a viable approach to reducing loneliness and depression in long-term care settings and lay the groundwork for future research.

Keywords:

• Loneliness
• depression
• social isolation
• peer support
• volunteer

Acknowledgements

A special thank you to Amy Matharu, Kaylen Pfisterer, Josie d’Avernas, and Dr. Michael Sharratt from the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, and Melanie James, residents, staff and volunteers at Schlegel Villages.

Disclosure statement

The authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Dr. Kristine Theurer developed the peer mentoring program prior to this study and receives remuneration for associated workshops and program materials. This conflict of interest was declared with behavioral research ethics board at the University of British Columbia.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral under Grant [767-2014-2411] awarded to Dr. Kristine Theurer; and by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research under Grant [201512MSH] awarded to Dr. Ben Mortenson as a New Investigator Award.