Primary health care practitioners’ perception of patient loneliness in Japanese older adults
A cross-sectional study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15742148 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kazutaka Yoshida (0000-0001-6018-3142, Fukushima Medical University, corresponding author), Koki Nakamura (0000-0003-1263-8485, Fukushima Medical University), Goro Hoshi, Satoshi Kanke (0000-0003-1490-1064, Fukushima Medical University), A Goto (0000-0002-7927-7648, Fukushima Medical University), Ryuki Kassai (0000-0002-3541-6685, Fukushima Medical University) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Pages | 101143-101143 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-10 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | SSM - Population Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2352-8273 • E-ISSN: 2352-8273 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101143 |
| PMID | 35756545 |
| OpenAlex | W4281629399 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
Loneliness is a serious social issue in Japan. We aimed to examine the frequency and patient characteristics of Japanese family physicians and nurses overlooking or misjudging patient loneliness. This cross-sectional study involved 470 patients aged 50 years or older who visited two family medicine clinics in Fukushima Prefecture in August 2020. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-squared test and logistic regression models. Patient loneliness was self-assessed using the University of California's Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. Family physicians and nurses assessed patient loneliness prior to the consultation by independently reviewing medical records for the previous 6 months. For family physicians, the proportion of misjudging loneliness, in which patients self-assessed as not lonely but were perceived to be lonely, was 20.2%. The proportion overlooking loneliness, in which patients self-assessed as lonely but were perceived not to be lonely, was 20.9%. Similarly for nurses, the proportions of misjudging and overlooking loneliness were 9.6% and 29.8%, respectively. The odds of a family physician overlooking loneliness was significantly higher for unmarried, divorced, or bereaved patients than for married (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.94; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-3.50), and for patients not participating in community activities compared with those participating (aOR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.24-3.54). The odds of a nurse misjudging a patient as lonely was significantly higher for unmarried, divorced, or bereaved patients than for married (aOR: 3.02; 95% CI: 1.24-7.36) and for patients living alone compared with those cohabiting with someone (aOR: 3.61; 95% CI: 1.17-11.17). The odds of a nurse overlooking loneliness was significantly higher for patients who did not participate in community activities (aOR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.26-3.06). These findings indicate that perceiving patient loneliness based on marital status, living arrangements, and involvement in community activities is difficult for family physicians and nurses in Japan
Confidence interval · Cross-sectional study · Family medicine · Logistic regression · Loneliness · Odds · Odds ratio · Psychiatry · Social support · UCLA Loneliness Scale · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Health, psychology, and well-being · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology · Social Psychology · Internal Medicine
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| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |