TY - JOUR
T1 - Social connectedness and self-perceived health of older adults in New Zealand
AU - Saravanakumar, Padmapriya
AU - Garrett, Nicholas Kenneth Gerald
AU - Van Wissen, Kim
AU - Montayre, Jed
AU - McBride-Henry, Karen
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was funded through a grant (#224420) from the Wellington Faculty of Health, Victoria University of Wellington, that was awarded to author KMH. The authors acknowledge the Health Promotion Agency, New Zealand, for providing us with the Health and Lifestyle Survey 2016 data that enabled the authors to conduct a secondary analysis reported in this manuscript. We also acknowledge Dr Grace Wong, Auckland University of Technology, for reviewing this manuscript.
Funding Information:
This project was funded through a grant (#224420) from the Wellington Faculty of Health, Victoria University of Wellington, that was awarded to author KMH. The authors acknowledge the Health Promotion Agency, New Zealand, for providing us with the Health and Lifestyle Survey 2016 data that enabled the authors to conduct a secondary analysis reported in this manuscript. We also acknowledge Dr Grace Wong, Auckland University of Technology, for reviewing this manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - The objective of this research was to explore social connectedness and associations with self-perceived health amongst older adults in New Zealand at a population level. The data for this analysis were derived from the 2016 Health and Lifestyle Survey, a nationally representative survey administered via face-to-face interviews. The findings from this analysis of 1,374 respondents, all of whom were over the age of 55 years, highlight that being female, belonging to older age groups (above 70 years), being employed full-time or part-time, connecting online with known people, considering cultural connections to be important and not feeling isolated from others are significantly and positively associated with positive self-perceived health. The findings underscore the resilience potential of older adults and importance of social connectedness for positive health and well-being. In addition, the findings reveal target areas that would benefit by intervention and support by health professionals and policy makers.
AB - The objective of this research was to explore social connectedness and associations with self-perceived health amongst older adults in New Zealand at a population level. The data for this analysis were derived from the 2016 Health and Lifestyle Survey, a nationally representative survey administered via face-to-face interviews. The findings from this analysis of 1,374 respondents, all of whom were over the age of 55 years, highlight that being female, belonging to older age groups (above 70 years), being employed full-time or part-time, connecting online with known people, considering cultural connections to be important and not feeling isolated from others are significantly and positively associated with positive self-perceived health. The findings underscore the resilience potential of older adults and importance of social connectedness for positive health and well-being. In addition, the findings reveal target areas that would benefit by intervention and support by health professionals and policy makers.
KW - connectedness
KW - culture
KW - older adults
KW - population-based survey
KW - public health
KW - social capital
KW - social connection
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107593814&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/hsc.13400
DO - 10.1111/hsc.13400
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34114704
AN - SCOPUS:85107593814
SN - 0966-0410
VL - 30
SP - e647-e656
JO - Health and Social Care in the Community
JF - Health and Social Care in the Community
IS - 3
ER -