Social Isolation

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Dear Student,
Hi and thank you for using BrainMass. The solution below should get you started on the topic of the impact of isolation with a focus on the elderly in a pandemic setting. Resources are listed for further exploration of the topic. This solution is based on excerpts derived from a preprint I have authored on the topic which can cited and accessed as follows:

Jones, Xenia Rochelle (2020): Covid-19: An Exposition, with a Focus on Social Isolation in the Elderly (UK) (Draft). figshare. Preprint. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12022632.v2

The preprint academic resource above is free for you to download or read if you follow that link. All the best with your studies.

Sincerely,
AE 105878/Xenia Jones

A: Excerpt -

What is Social Isolation?
Social isolation is that condition of total or near-total absence of contact between an individual and society. It is important to note that isolation is not equivalent to loneliness - the latter being a possible response to isolation with loneliness deemed as that complex and unpleasant feeling of being empty, alone and unwanted, craving human contact but barred or deterred by varied reasons from doing so (Cherry, 2020). But while isolation does not necessarily result to loneliness, with a number of people preferring 'aloneness' as a way of life with minimal social contact (Singer, 2018), being socially disconnected especially in perceived isolation (subjective experience of the absence of companionship and support) will have a large effect on health and mortality risk. Singer (2018) claims that there is a wealth of studies that have tackled the connection between one's health in relation to social engagement, majority of which conclude that isolation and loneliness impact health status making them unambiguous risk factors for ill health and mortality. An example of this is the work of Pantel, Rehkopf, Jutte, Syme, Balmes & Adler (2013) which looked into social isolation as a predictor of mortality rate in the US. Their study used a nationally representative sample and compared the predictive ability of social isolation to that of traditional clinical risk factors to predict mortality rate. They (Pantell, et al., 2013) concluded that:

"The strength of social isolation as a predictor
of mortality is similar to that of well-documented clinical risk factors.
Our results suggest the importance of assessing patients'
level of social isolation."

For Pantell, et. al. (2013), an individual's social integration and support, especially in the case of patients who are socially isolated ...