Reconnecting with GENIE: Evaluating the impact of a telecommunications platform on social isolation experienced by older adults living in long-term care in New Brunswick

Maintaining social relationships improves mental health while helping combat feelings of social isolation. However, older adults living in long-term care (LTC) often face challenges connecting to family members, especially family who live far away. Scheduling conflicts between family members, LTC residents, and LTC staff make it difficult to coordinate real-time in-person and virtual visits. Older adults in LTC may also experience barriers to navigating virtual communications platforms due to lack of familiarity with technology or challenges with hand and finger coordination. This pilot project introduced a standalone communications platform in LTC facilities to help address older adults’ feelings of social isolation. The platform, known as GENIE, was specifically designed in collaboration with older adults to ensure ease of independent use. Because it is asynchronous (nonsimultaneous), GENIE allows users to exchange messages, videos, and photos with family members and friends at convenient times for older adults and LTC staff. The goal of the evaluation was to assess the impact of GENIE on older adults’ social isolation, loneliness, mood, emotional wellbeing, and sense of belonging. Expected outcomes included improved mental and emotional health status and decreased rates of social isolation, loneliness, and depression in older adults living in LTC. It was also anticipated that family members would experience lower levels of stress and worry about their loved ones, older adults and family members would report satisfaction with the platform, and LTC staff would report satisfaction with the platform and reduced burden at work. To assess GENIE’s impact, the platform was implemented at 5 LTC homes in rural and urban locations across New Brunswick (intervention (TX) group). 5 additional facilities did not use GENIE (control (CTRL) group). At the end of the project, health outcomes were compared for GENIE users over time as well as between the TX and CTRL groups.

• Observational data suggests that GENIE had a positive impact on the mental and emotional health of the small sample of older adults who participated in the study. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the subjective nature of observational data. There was also a large amount of missing data and only a limited number of statistically significant results (which is perhaps due to the small sample size of the study). Altogether, these findings indicate that further research is needed to assess GENIE’s impact on older adults.
• Due to physical and/or cognitive limitations, most older adults who participated in the study were unable to navigate GENIE on their own.
• Internet stability, family dynamics, family users’ access to and comfort with smart technology, LTC staff members’ workload, and older adults’ cognitive status were key barriers that limited older adults’ engagement with GENIE.

• Implement GENIE with more independent older adult populations.
• The project team has developed a “Best Practices Guide” based on lessons learned from the pilot 
  project. This guide clearly outlines family member and LTC staff roles and responsibilities and should be used to guide any future implementations of GENIE.

Read the project findings (PDF 163 KB)