Loneliness, social provision and health among older men and women with chronic physical diseases – a mixed methods study

Figures & data

Table 1. Participants, burden of disorder and carers in a gender perspective.

	Female	Male
Age (ys)	79.8	79.4
Education^a	2.5	2.8
Self-reported health^b	3.7	3.5
MMSE short version^c	11.1	11.6
Lonely %	68	59
Closest caring person	Spouse 4% Children/other relatives 52% Healthcare caregiver’s 32%	Spouse 41% Children/other relatives 41% Healthcare caregiver’s 12 %

^aScale from 1 to 6, where 1 indicates primary school and 6 university or university college. ^b1 indicated very poor health and 5 very good health. ^cScale from 1 to 12, no cognitive impairment at sumscore between 10 and 12 points.

Table 2. The participants’ report of the type of help they miss the most.

What kind of help did the participants miss the most?	Female  (N = 25)	Male   (N = 17)
Cleaning and practical help in the house	9 (36%)	1 (6%)
Social contact	7 (28%)	4 (24%)
Help to get out of the house	3 (12%)	3 (18%)
Medical help	2 (8%)	1 (6%)
Nothing	4 (16%)	8 (48%)

Table 3. The participants’ report on their best help, where and by whom.

Where and from whom have you received the best help?	Female (N = 25)	Male (N = 17)
Stay in a geriatric department	0 (0%)	3 (18%)
Municipal help at home	6 (24%)	4 (24%)
Spouse at home	0 (0%)	7 (41%)
Social and practical help from other close relatives	14 (56%)	3 (18%)
No answer	5 (20%)	0 (0%)

Table 4. A comparison of the total SPS and subscales stratified by gender (means and 95% CI).

Total SPS and subscales	Female	Male
Social Provision Scale	74.1 (67.6–80.5)	76.9 (66.5–87.2)
Attachment	13.1 (11.7–14.5)	15.8 (11.8–13.8)
Social integration	13.3 (11.8–14.7)	12.2 (9.7–14.7)
Opportunity for nurturance	8.3 (6.5–10.1)	9.9 (7.3–12.6)
Reassurance of worth	12.8 (11.4–14.2)	12.9 (10.7–15.0)
A sense of reliable alliance	15.0 (14.2–15.8)	14.6 (13.1–16.2)
Obtaining guidance	11.7 (9.8–13.5)	13.4 (10.9–15.9)

Table 5. Pearson correlation between SPS and self-rated health stratified by gender.

Total SPS and subscales	Female	Male
Social Provision Scale	0.570	0.406
Attachment	0.487	0.207
Social integration	0.599	0.555
Opportunity for nurturance	0.107	0.228
Reassurance of worth	0.585	0.445
A sense of reliable alliance	0.413	0.270
Obtaining guidance	0.405	0.049

Table 6. Main theme and subthemes of loneliness and categories of female and male participants’ statements.

Categories	Emotions	Existential	Social relationships	Physical
Subthemes	Sadness Emptiness Missing Grieve	Worthless Forsaken	Alone and isolated Ignored and forgotten
Female Statements	Worried Bitterness Despair/despairing On the outside/left out Unable to express the feelings she has	Afraid of dying alone Feeling alive but dead because all her friends are dead. Alone in the world Outside real life	Feeling neglected Filled with longing for company. Miss close people I’m longing for contact and somebody to talk to. Feeling useless, feeling like a fool. Must give to get something. back and she cannot do so, thus children, grandchildren do not care about her^1	Bored and restless Unease Acts on the unrest. Wants to leave the house
Male Statements	Depressed Anxiety, fright, fear Abandoned, deserted Uncomfortable Unpleasant	Suicidal thoughts Living down in a dark basement - no bright spots Alone, the day is so long. Most of life has passed	Longing for the loved ones who have died (especially his wife) 2 Nothing worthwhile Overlooked Does not want to bother. others	Desperate, not able to pull himself together Muddle-headed, scatter-brained Isolated because unable to keep up with others. Conversation at a ‘high’ pace Unable to participate outside the flat

1 Main theme: Loss of the sense of belongingness and a feeling of being insignificant.

Data availability statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to the privacy of the people who took part in this research