How can college students help nursing home residents feel less lonely?

University of Arkansas nursing students Ally Miriani and Caroline Crawford hypothesize that a pen pal program might benefit both students and the elderly. This is why the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing seniors just launched an honors thesis project called "Letters Against Loneliness." They want to study whether connecting college-age students with elderly patients in nursing homes can help ease feelings of loneliness between the two groups.

"As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have been forced to spend more time alone during quarantine or while self-isolating, which can take a large toll on mental health," Miriani said. "We want to reduce loneliness through letter writing."

Miriani was motivated to study this topic after her grandfather moved into a long-term care facility in Pittsburgh. He's not allowed to have visitors due to coronavirus precautions. And he needs to stay in his room for meals, so socializing with others in the facility isn't an option either.

"This has been a very hard transition for him," Miriani said. "He's not very technologically savvy, and he has trouble calling or Facetiming us without the help of staff at the facility. This is what inspired me to team up with Caroline."

Crawford noticed lonely nursing home residents while she was interning at local facilities — and while making Meals on Wheels deliveries to elderly people with her grandmother.

"We're hopeful that the letter-writing intervention will contribute to personal growth and fulfillment in older and young-adult participants," she said. "Those two factors are especially important in combatting loneliness."

Students participating in the project will write to an assigned older adult once a week for eight weeks. Crawford and Miriani will assess the program's effectiveness by using the established UCLA Loneliness Scale, which measures subjective feelings of loneliness and social isolation, and through open-ended questions.

Miriani and Crawford both graduate in May 2021. They plan to share their research results with undergraduate nursing students and encourage them to continue the project.

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This story is the latest in a series called the Dean's Spotlight, featuring outstanding students in the College of Education and Health Professions. Visit COEHP's online magazine, the Colleague, for more news from the six units that make up the College. Visit the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing page for more information on COEHP's nursing program.