Loneliness among Elderly Resident and Non Residents at the Eldery Care Homes in Port Said City: Comparative Study

Abstract Background: Loneliness is a problem for a large portion of elderly people. Many factors affect the elderly; separation or dying of spouse, decrease the level of education or economic status result in loneliness. Aim of Study: Explore the feeling of loneliness among the elderly residents and non- residents at the eldry care homes in Port Said City. Research Design: A comparative descriptive design was used to conduct this study. Sample size: The subject of the study compromised all the geriatric people residing in the two governmental eldry care homes in Port Said and Port Fouad (92 elders) and 144 elderly people from the Elderly Health Center in Al-Manakh District in Port Said City. Material and Methods: The data were collected using a personal structured interview questionnair, Barthel index scale, University of California, Los Angeles loneliness scale (ULCA) and the geriatric depression scale (GDS). Results: According to the elderly people living at their homes; (57.6%, 29.2% & 13.2%) of them had low, mild & high feeling of loneliness respectively while, (19.6%, 45.7% & 34.8%) of residents at eldry care homes had (low, mild and high) loneliness respectively. The difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: The study revealed that residents in the nursing homes significantly had high feeling of loneliness more than elderly people living at their homes. The most important factors that significantly affected the feeling of loneliness were marital status, income, health status and depression. Recommendation: Encouraging elderly people to partic-ipate in social events and increase their social contacts by visiting their family members or friends.