Innovative Health Professionals Training Program on Existential Loneliness among Older People Erasmus Project

Project Title

Innovative Health Professionals Training Program on Existential Loneliness among Older People

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Access for disadvantaged; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

Loneliness among older people is a growing issue globally, even if the numbers are difficult to estimate as loneliness most commonly is measured as social loneliness only. Social loneliness embraces social aspects needs for human relationships and is often measured in the form of the number of contacts someone has, how extensive the social network is, cohabitation or not, etc. Loneliness is, however, a complex concept that also involves physical as existential dimensions. The physical dimension involves the need closeness and touch, while loneliness in its existential form runs much deeper than social and physical loneliness and is described as an unavoidable condition of humanity. This means that even if other people surround you, you can experience profound loneliness in its existential form. Existential loneliness is usually described in association with death, dying, and cancer when questions about the meaning of life come to the fore. Studies involving health care staff (physicians, registered nurses, assistant nurses, social workers, physio- and occupational therapists) shows that the staff’s encounter with older people’s EE was experienced as both meaningful and challenging.
ALONE project has two main objective: 1)To educate nurses about the different dimensions of loneliness to be able to detect and recognize loneliness in all its forms among older people; 2) To encourage nurses and strengthen their ability to encounter loneliness in general and existential loneliness in particular.
The target group of ALONE project are: nurses and other health professionals working in home care, nursing home care, palliative care, primary care, hospital care, or pre-hospital care.
The aim of the project is to develop a best practice collection in coping with older persons loneliness and a training package for nurses and other health care professionals who currently have limited or no training in how to cope with older persons affected by existential loneliness provide qualified and integrative care to this vulnerable target group. By using a transnational project approach, a collection of good practice, a functional training material and pedagogical guidelines that take into account the European social and cultural diversity in various elderly healthcare facilities will be generated and consequently the developed training material will be more easily adopted and used across Europe. By increasing knowledge and awareness about these aspects among partners and their networks, the project will also promote a broader health and social dialogue about the need to have adequate training on dealing with loneliness among older people in order to provide better patient care, increase life expectancy.

Project Website

http://aloneproject.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 197800 Eur

Project Coordinator

Akademia Humanistyczno-Ekonomiczna w Lodzi & Country: PL

Project Partners

• ANZIANI E NON SOLO SOCIETA COOPERATIVA SOCIALE
• Ordinul Asistentilor Medicali Generalisti, Moaselor si Asistentilor Medicali din Romania Filiala Iasi
• HOEGSKOLAN KRISTIANSTAD
• KLAIPEDOS VALSTYBINE KOLEGIJA