David Camacho leads publication on the association of demographic, health and social factors and common pandemic-related experiences with loneliness in older adults living in Puerto Rico during the COVID-19 pandemic
David Camacho and co-authors at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Weill Cornell Medicine published “Loneliness in Older Adults Living in Puerto Rico During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Underexamined Public Health Concern” in the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences.
Data are from a 2021 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices survey of older adults’ pandemic-related experiences in Puerto Rico (PI, Dr. Denise Burnette, VCU). In close collaboration with community agencies and the Archdiocese of Puerto Rico, Dr. Camacho and the study team interviewed 213 individuals across all six geographic regions of the island.
Almost 40% of study participants met the loneliness cutoff score (≥6) on the UCLA Three- Item Loneliness Scale. Older age, psychological distress, and psychological sense of community were associated with loneliness. The authors advocate for further research to enhance the development and implementation of effective, culturally and contextually congruent approaches to detection and intervention in late-life loneliness in older adults in Puerto Rico.