{"id":30540,"date":"2017-12-15T11:30:09","date_gmt":"2017-12-15T10:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/?p=30540"},"modified":"2026-01-22T13:49:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T12:49:22","slug":"more-than-15000-frail-elderly-new-zealanders-are-lonely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/more-than-15000-frail-elderly-new-zealanders-are-lonely\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 15,000 frail elderly New Zealanders are lonely"},"content":{"rendered":"

New research from the University of Otago Christchurch<\/a> have found that one in five older people<\/strong> (equates to 15,000 elderly) identify as feeling lonely in New Zealand<\/strong>, and the negative impact of this can worsen health conditions.<\/p>\n

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\"Elderly<\/p>\n

Loneliness: a negative impact on health, well-being and mortality<\/h2>\n

More than 15,000 frail elderly identified as being lonely<\/strong> according to a world-first study of 72,000 older New Zealanders.<\/p>\n

The findings come from research on InterRai<\/strong>, a universal assessment of elderly living in the community who need home services or are being considered for entry into care. This\u00a0study was led by University of Otago, Christchurch, researchers Dr Hamish Jamieson and Dr Sally Keeling. It was recently published in the Australasian Journal on Ageing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Dr Jamieson says he wanted to understand the burden of loneliness<\/a> in the elderly because it is widely recognised as having a negative impact on health, well-being and mortality.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read also:\u00a0Almost a million older people feel lonelier at Christmas<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Study’s findings<\/h2>\n

The study found:<\/p>\n