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Older residents of nursing home and other care facilities are vulnerable in a number of ways. Often dealing with physical or cognitive impairments, these residents are dependent on their facilities to provide them with the care and support they need in order to experience an adequate quality of life.
While some forms of elder abuse, like physical abuse, are clear-cut, others may be just as harmful while being less obvious. One such risk is isolation and a lack of social interaction. By depriving nursing home residents of these vital social ties, a care facility can harm its residents both mentally and physically.
Mental Harms
Humans are social creatures on a fundamental level, and that doesn’t change with age. In fact, older people are even more vulnerable to the effects of a lack of social interaction, for a handful of reasons.
First of all, isolation is heavily linked with mental health maladies like depression and anxiety. These can manifest in ways both severe and less impactful, but in all cases lead to reduced quality of life. Feelings of fear, hopelessness, tension and agitation all increase stress, and can lead even to residents making attempts on their own lives.
Even if isolation and a lack of social interaction don’t lead to a diagnosable mental health condition or severe consequences, a resident experiencing this will be more likely to be bored and feel like their life has no purpose anymore.
But in addition to the mental health risks, older residents are also particularly at risk of experiencing cognitive declines due to isolation. As we age, our brains are less plastic and more prone to degeneration, and isolation can lead to the shrinking of both gray and white brain matter. This, in turn, can cause a decrease in the ability to regulate emotions and handle stress.
Studies show that memory retention and decision-making degrade among isolated residents. This brings with it a heightened risk of dementia.
Physical Harms
While the adverse mental effects of isolation and lack of social interaction may seem straightforward, isolation can also harm residents of nursing homes physically. This is true both in a direct sense and in an important indirect sense.
To start with the indirect one: Isolated residents are less likely to receive proper healthcare. The reason for this is simple. When a resident is isolated and isn’t interacting socially, there are fewer people to observe them and notice that something might not be right. Residents, especially those dealing with some level of cognitive decline or impairment, may not always be aware of issues with their physical health. When a resident is isolated, health problems may snowball before anyone notices, leading to worse healthcare outcomes.
In addition to this factor, isolation puts stress on the body. This leads to a wide range of issues, from metabolic disruption to a weakened immune system to cardiovascular problems. As a result, isolated residents are more vulnerable to catching illnesses and less able to fight them off, and can suffer serious heart-related issues.
Residents not receiving enough social interaction often struggle with both sleep and eating habits. Irregular sleep and a lack of appetite have the potential to weaken the body further, yet again making these residents more exposed to other health issues.
All in all, residents who are isolated and lacking in social interaction see significantly higher mortality figures than those who are socializing at proper levels. And even leaving mortality aside, isolated residents usually experienced diminished quality of life at a time when they are particularly vulnerable.
In some cases, it’s not always clear when a resident is improperly being isolated. In such instances, a nursing home abuse lawyer from Thomas Law Offices may be able to clarify elements of the law as it relates to the obligations a care facility has toward its residents.
It’s easy for residents of a nursing home to become increasingly isolated, especially as spouses, other loved ones and acquaintances pass away. But it’s critical that a care facility has protocols and practices in place to keep their residents engaged with other people.