The Relationship Between Social Isolation and Nutritional Status of the Elderly

<p>The nutritional status and social isolation of community dwelling elderly is a concern to the state of health for this population. Research has shown that the elderly have a low nutritional status and are socially isolated depending upon circumstances. The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation existed between nutritional status and social isolation.<br> A personal interview of 50 community dwelling elderly was conducted. The mean score on the Body Mass Index of the subjects was 23.65. The low value of the normal level of nutritional status was 24. The mean score on the Lubben Social Network Scale was 22.4. A socially isolated person would have a score of 20 or below. Nineteen of the 50 had a score of 20 or below. Using the Pearson r Correlation Coefficient no significant correlation was found between the nutritional status and social isolation of the community dwelling elderly.<br> Fifty-two percent of community dwelling elderly are below the suggested nutritional status established by the Nutritional Screening Initiative. Thirty-eight percent of community dwelling elderly are socially isolated. However, there is no significant correlation between the social isolation and nutritional status of the community dwelling elderly in this sample.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - University Access Only

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Graduate Nursing

Year

1997

Author dc:creator

• Pickard, Sylvia K.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Margaret Hegge

• older people nutrition
• older people social networks
• social isolation
• Nursing

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 1997 Sylvia Pickard. All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/878

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:openprairie.sdstate.edu:etd-1878