Abstract

SANTOS-OLMO, Ana Belén; AUSIN, Berta; MUNOZ, Manuel  and  SERRANO, Pilar. Older adults in social isolation in the city of Madrid: experience of an intervention using the psychological strategy of outreach. Psychosocial Intervention [online]. 2008, vol.17, n.3, pp.307-319. ISSN 2173-4712.

The aim of the Service of Psychological Support to Fragile Elders with Social Isolation in Madrid is to achieve an approximation to the older persons with clear risk of social isolation, which allows to lead these situations to the normalization, assigning the social opportune resources in every case and even facilitating the involuntary internment and considering the legal incapacitation in last end. This article describes the Service, used methodology and the obtained results in the first 19 months of existence of the Service. Finally, the population is described in terms of health and psychosocial functioning, social and sanitary needs, global functioning and disability. The present applied research has revealed the need of having professionals trained in psychological strategies of outreach, engage and treatment allowing to approach with certain guarantees the problems of this population group. The information indicates that the interventions with this type of population need a long duration, with interventions to medium and long term (between 3 and 15 months). It is convenient to make distinction between three groups of intervention (Normalization, Containment and Custody) in which the times of intervention are different.

Keywords : Social isolation; Older adults; Outreach; HoNOS65+; CANE.

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