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Utilizing Telehealth Technology To Reduce Social Isolation And Depression In Seniors, Bohan Farrell

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Abstract

Background: Social isolation in the elderly has been identified as a risk factor for poor mental and physical health, as well as higher rates of mortality, depression, and cognitive decline. Loneliness is the unpleasant experience that occurs when a person’s network of social relationships is deficient in some important way, either quantitatively or qualitatively. Depression is a mental condition characterized by feelings of severe despondency and dejection, typically with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, and accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep. Physically, lonely people have more disorders, such as sleeping problems, stomach pain, and …