Loneliness, self-care and activities of daily living among older adults: A Partial Least Squares Model

Abstract Background: This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the feelings of loneliness and its relationship with self-care and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) among the older adults of Tabriz city. Methods: In this observational cross-sectional study, older adults were interviewed face-to-face. Participants were selected randomly from Iran’s Integrated Health System (IIHS) framework. Three questionnaires including de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Persian version of self-care scale, and ADL-Katz were used for data collection. The Partial Least Squares and Spearman’s correlation were used to investigate the relationships between demographic characteristics, loneliness, self-care, and ADL. Results: The sample comprised 315 respondents 51.1% were female, 49.5% had a middle school literacy and 86% were married. A significant relationship was observed between loneliness and self-care (P<0.001 and r =-0.311). Demographic characteristics such as age and marital status negatively moderated the relationships between loneliness and self-care (path coefficient -0.07, P=0.044). ADL was positively associated with self-care (path coefficient 0.41, p =0.046) and also a direct and significant relationship was observed between ADL and daily self-care (P<0.001 and r=0.335). Conclusion: The feeling of loneliness and its inverse relationship with self-care, which is more crucial in elderlies than other people, indicates the importance of studying the feeling of loneliness in the older adults, and further studies are necessary to investigate more and make a plan of action.