Even before COVID-19 led to limiting senior centers and communities to the public, social isolation was already an issue for senior citizens. Social isolation–the absence of social contact between an individual and society, which leads to loneliness–is actually as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
One of the ways to manage and prevent social isolation is through technological innovation focused on increasing resident engagement. But determining the best senior living engagement platform to use can be challenging. It’s important to first evaluate what your senior community or loved one needs. That way, you can decide which digital senior living software is the best for your loved ones or senior community residents, in order to maintain senior citizen health, happiness, and longevity.
Social Isolation & Loneliness
Social isolation is the absence of social contact between an individual and society that leads to feelings of loneliness. It can be triggered by a number of factors including loss of mobility, unemployment, long-term illness, and economic struggles, and is often linked to mental illness. Social isolation can be an issue for individuals of any age, but it is of particular danger to the elderly population, given they’re more likely to experience those risk factors.
Prolonged loneliness can increase the risk of suffering from chronic health conditions, can exacerbate various health conditions, and can lead to premature mortality. It’s also degenerative: lonely people are more likely to strain health-care systems and national productivity from their lack of activity. Their bodies are distinctly different from the bodies of healthy people.
Loneliness can exacerbate and cause:
- High blood pressure and cardiovascular disease
- Elevated levels of cortisol
- Hypertension
- Reduced immunity and susceptibility to illness
- Chronic inflammation
- Alzheimer’s
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Periodontitis
Additionally, isolation in older adults and all of society is expensive. Social isolation, sedentary lifestyles, and cognitive decline are three elements that exacerbate each other and contribute to a billions of deficit in preventable healthcare spending. Preventing social isolation can help treat all of the health issues listed above, as well as reduce the chance of mental illness that can come from loneliness.
The Importance of Social Engagement for Senior Citizens
The physical, mental, cultural, and economic effects of loneliness are detrimental to societies worldwide, especially for older adults. But by using engagement tools and software, it is possible to mitigate the effects on senior citizens, and save their lives.
Easy-to-Use Engagement Software for Older Adults
Viibrant
Viibrant is a resident engagement platform for senior living communities. Viibrant simplifies the completion of tasks such as dining reservations, event registration, and service requests, as well as encourages connection and engagement through an easy-to-use platform that’s customized for each community.
It’s a great platform for senior communities to help with staff organization, because it helps manage event attendee tracking, maintenance requests, fitness tracking, and calendar creation, all in one place. By using one of Viibrant’s three digital senior living softwares, communities can make lives simpler for staff, executives, and most importantly: their residents. Viibrant helps develop virtual connections for its users and aids senior care staff in all of their work.
PointClickCare
PointClickCare provides engagement software options for skill-specific nursing, senior living, home health care, and acute healthcare. It provides senior communities and businesses with tools that help attract and retain staff, improve financial health, and provide the best senior community resident experience.
Their senior living health care application, Companion, specifically helps caregivers deliver services and medication, allowing them to spend more quality, one-on-one time with residents. By improving operational efficiency, PointClickCare helps create communities that can help senior centers provide better care for their residents, and have better financial health to help sustain their business.
televëda
televëda is a senior engagement platform that provides an end-to-end solution to senior isolation and loneliness. televëda provides a monthly calendar of curated live streaming activity programming for senior centers and communities that they stream on their interactive, two-way platform.
But, it’s not just software: it’s also the tech support, security advisors, expert teachers, content curators, and data analyzers. televëda understands that every community is unique, which is why they also provide data reports tracking wellness and engagement to ensure a positive ROI, and that a senior center’s vision will best serve the senior community resident engagement needs.
As a community partner, televëda’s programming puts organizations at a competitive advantage, as well as allows staff to focus on the core duties and needs of communities. And by providing a wide array of classes–fitness, education, karaoke, bingo, virtual tours, and more–they speak to every senior’s interests and needs as they foster relationships between seniors, staff, and entire virtual communities.
Senior Living Software Can Improve Resident Engagement & Health
Senior living engagement software can be life changing, and life saving. It’s important for senior communities to try these easy-to-use senior living technologies to not only help staff and executives, but also keep residents engaged and embracing life.
Keeping loneliness and social isolation at bay not only helps senior-based organizations reduce expenses and better allocate limited resources, but also prevents a myriad of health concerns and enhances longevity. If you have any questions on how to do this, or want to just learn more about how televëda can help your community, send us an email at [email protected] today!
About televëda
televëda is a class management software that helps senior living, non-profits, and municipalities create, build, and grow safe and accessible virtual programs for their vulnerable populations. Organizations save significant time, money, and resources by partnering with televeda’s one-stop-shop software solution for interactive virtual engagement. The mission: reduce social isolation for the elderly and other vulnerable populations to promote heathy living.