The "Not Alone" project, promoted by the TecnoCampus Chair of Aging and Quality of Life, has been selected and financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, through the State Research Agency. Thanks to this support, the project will receive financing aid of 100,400 euros. The project was presented in the call for the "State Plan for Scientific, Technical and Innovation Research 2021-2023" in the "Generation of Knowledge 2022" modality.
As explained by the director Esther Cabrera, Esther Cabrera, coordinator of the consolidated Research Group on Chronic Care and Innovation in Health and director of the chair, one of her lines of research is, precisely, to deepen the phenomenon of loneliness. in older people, especially women
In Spain, women over 65 years of age represent 11% of the total population, compared to 8.4% of men. However, a longer life expectancy does not always translate into a better quality of life, and women often live longer in worse health conditions. “We believe that the gender perspective is very important, because there are many women who throughout their lives have taken care of their parents and children, and who at a given moment are left alone without anyone taking care of them.”
Therefore, with the project "The feminization of unwanted loneliness in older people; how to deal with it (Not Alone)" the phenomenon of loneliness in women over 65 years of age is addressed. As Cabrera explains, the data show that in 30% of cases, women who are alone “have not sought this solitude.” The impact that this unintended situation has on the physical and mental health of these women is so significant that it deserves to be studied and addressed comprehensively by health and social professionals.
The “Not Alone” project has the participation of the Mataró City Council and is made up of a multidisciplinary team of professionals, which includes nurses, psychologists, social workers and doctors, all of them specialized in the field of aging. Its main objective is to delve deeper into the phenomenon of unwanted loneliness and try to identify how to prevent this problem within the community itself.
The project will last four years. Its main objective is to investigate the prevalence and factors involved in the appearance of loneliness among women over 65 years of age in Mataró. Additionally, through a qualitative study, the project will delve into the experiences, perceptions and feelings of these women who feel alone.
Thus, in the first phase, a field study will be carried out, visiting 425 homes in the Mataró area, to verify in which cases women have chosen to live alone or are in a situation of unsought loneliness. The second phase wants to delve into the causes that have led to this situation.
The first two phases of the study will culminate in the development of a predictive model that will allow women at risk of experiencing unwanted loneliness and its related physical and mental health problems to be quickly identified.
As a result of this research, two doctoral theses are expected to be carried out in the GRACIS Research Group. Over time, the relationship between loneliness and gender will evolve. The chair highlights the importance of understanding the phenomenon of loneliness and mitigating its effects on women's health from a gender perspective and how health and social professionals can identify these factors.
