Browsing by Subject "Social isolation"
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- PublicationOpen AccessCaracterísticas de la práctica de actividad física durante pandemia por COVID-19 en profesionistas y sus familias(Universidad de Murcia, Servicio de publicaciones, 2021) Enríquez Reyna, María Cristina; Ceballos Gurrola, Oswaldo; Medina Rodríguez, Rosa Elena; Cocca, Armando; Moreno Muciño, OddeteEl objetivo del estudio fue determinar las características de la conducta de actividad física realizada al inicio de la fase 3 de contingencia epidemiológica por COVID-19 en personas mayores de 18 años. Se presenta una investigación cuantitativa, comparativa y transversal. Participaron 2116 profesionistas afiliados en asociaciones de Educación Física y Deporte de Norteamérica, Centro y Sudamérica. Los resultados muestran que los principales motivos para realizar ejercicio fueron la condición física (32.5%), el disfrute o gusto (27.8%) y la apariencia física (16.3%). Más de uno de cada cinco reportó no tener tiempo para realizar ejercicio. Existen diferencias por región y sexo para la realización de actividad física durante el aislamiento social (p < .05). Pese a que las personas reconocen los beneficios del ejercicio para la salud, la salud no es considerada dentro de las principales motivaciones para su realización.
PublicationOpen AccessDATA SET HELPeN Project Effects Clinical Simulation(2026-03-10) Hernández López, María Jesús; Ruzafa Martínez, María; Leal Costa, César; Ramos Morcillo, Antonio Jesús; Díaz García, Isidora; López Pérez, María Verónica; Hernández Méndez, Solanger; García González, Jessica; Enfermería; Facultad de Enfermería- PublicationOpen AccessDATA SET HELPeN Project Prevalence Unwanted Loneliness(2026-03-10) Hernández López, María Jesús; Hernández Méndez, Solanger; Leal Costa, César; Ramos Morcillo, Antonio Jesús; Díaz García, Isidora; López Pérez, María Verónica; García González, Jessica; Ruzafa Martínez, María; Enfermería; Facultad de Enfermería
- PublicationOpen AccessDATA SET HELPeN Project Reducing Loneliness(2026-03-10) Hernández López, María Jesús; García González, Jessica; Leal Costa, César; Ramos Morcillo, Antonio Jesús; Díaz García, Isidora; López Pérez, María Verónica; Hernández Méndez, Solanger; Ruzafa Martínez, María; Enfermería; Facultad de Enfermería
- PublicationOpen AccessEffects of a clinical simulation-based training program for nursing students to address social isolation and loneliness in the elderly: a quasi-experimental study(MDPI, 2023-09-19) Hernández López, María Jesús; Ruzafa Martínez, María; Leal Costa, César; Ramos Morcillo, Antonio Jesús; Díaz García, Isidora; López Pérez, María Verónica; Hernández Méndez, Solanger; García González, Jessica; EnfermeríaIntroduction: The population of older adults is rapidly increasing worldwide, presentingboth prospects and complexities for society and healthcare professionals to maximize the functionalcapacity of this age group. Social isolation and loneliness significantly affect this population. Theobjective was to determine the effectiveness, satisfaction, and perceptions of the simulation-basededucation practices of a training program for nursing students, which was created to palliate thesocial isolation and loneliness of older adults. Method: A quasi-experimental study was conductedwith nursing students who participated in an online training program using teleservice based on high-fidelity clinical simulation. The program included asynchronous theoretical training and synchronouspractical training using an online platform. Five scenarios were designed using simulated phonecalls to address the social isolation and loneliness of older adults. Results: Twenty-five nursingstudents participated in the program, and they had a mean age of 27.44, with 76% of them beingwomen. After the training program, the participants showed statistically significant improvements(p< 0.05) with respect to their knowledge and attitudes towards older adults, and the programwas adapted to the best educational practices in simulations. Conclusions: Simulation-based onlinetraining efficiently improved the knowledge and attitudes of nursing students towards older adults,improving their ability to address social isolation and loneliness. The high satisfaction and adhesion tothe best educational practices underline the usefulness of high-fidelity online simulations, especiallyin situations in which face-to-face training is not feasible, and accessibility and equilibrium could beguaranteed between work and personal life.
- PublicationOpen AccessEffects of long-term individual housing of middle-aged female Octodon degus on spatial learning and memory in the Barnes maze task(Frontiers Media, 2023-08-03) Baño Otalora, Beatriz; Rol de Lama, María de los Ángeles; Venero, César; Madrid, Juan Antonio; Popovic, Natalija; Popovic Popovic, Miroljub; FisiologíaIntroduction: Prolonged social isolation is a form of passive chronic stress that has consequences on human and animal behavior. The present study was undertaken to elucidate whether the long-term isolation would precipitate age-related changes in anxiety and spatial learning and memory in degus. Methods: We investigated the effects of long-term social isolation on anxiety levels in the light-dark test, and spatial orientation abilities in the Barnes maze. Middle-aged female Octodon degus were allocated to either group-housed (3 animals per cage) or individually-housed for 5 months. Results: Under this experimental condition, there were no significant group differences in the anxiety level tested in the light-dark test and in the motivation to escape from the Barnes maze. There were no significant differences in cortisol levels between individually- and group-housed animals. On the last acquisition training day of spatial learning, individually- housed animals had a significantly higher number of correct responses and a smaller number of reference and working memory errors than the group-housed animals. In addition, isolated animals showed a tendency for reference and working memory impairment on the retention trial, while group-housed degus showed improvement in these parameters. Discussion and conclusion: The present study indicates that prolonged social isolation during adulthood in female degus has a dual effect on spatial orientation. Specifically, it results in a significant improvement in acquisition skills but a slight impairment in memory retention. The obtained cognitive changes were not accompanied by modification in anxiety and cortisol levels
- PublicationRestrictedLong-term social isolation in the adulthood results in CA1 shrinkage and cognitive impairment(Elsevier, 2013-07-15) Pereda-Pérez, Inmaculada; Baño-Otalora, Beatriz; Madrid, Juan Antonio; Rol, María Ángeles; Venero, Cesar; Popovic, Natalija; Popovic Popovic, Miroljub; Anatomía Humana y PsicobiologíaSocial isolation in adulthood is a psychosocial stressor that can result in endocrinological and behavioral alterations in different species. In rodents, controversial results have been obtained in fear conditioning after social isolation at adulthood, while neural substrates underlying these differences are largely unknown. Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and its polysialylated form (PSA-NCAM) are prominent modulators of synaptic plasticity underlying memory processes in many tasks, including fear conditioning. In this study, we used adult female Octodon degus to investigate the effects of long-term social isolation on contextual and cued fear conditioning, and the possible modulation of the synaptic levels of NCAM and PSA-NCAM in the hippocampus. After 6½ months of social isolation, adult female degus showed a normal auditory-cued fear memory, but a deficit in contextual fear memory, a hippocampal dependent task. Subsequently, we observed reduced hippocampal synaptic levels of PSA-NCAM in isolated compared to grouped-housed female degus. No significant differences were found between experimental groups in hippocampal levels of the three main isoforms of NCAM (NCAM180, NCAM140 and NCAM120). Interestingly, social isolation reduced the volume of the hippocampal CA1 subfield, without affecting the volume of the CA3 subregion or the total hippocampus. Moreover, attenuated body weight gain and reduced number of granulocytes were detected in isolated animals. Our findings indicate for the first time, that long-term social isolation of adult female animals induces a specific shrinkage of CA1 and a decrease in synaptic levels of PSA-NCAM in the hippocampus. These effects may be related to the deficit in contextual fear memory observed in isolated female degus.
- PublicationOpen AccessPercepción del autoconcepto físico en estudiantes universitarios en tiempos de confinamiento por COVID-19(Universidad de Murcia. Servicio de publicaciones, 2021) Cardozo, Luis Alberto; Cadena Duarte, Laura LorenaEl confinamiento por la COVID-19 ha ocasionado diversos cambios sociales, pero se desconoce su impacto en el autoconcepto físico. El presente trabajo tuvo por objetivo analizar la percepción del autoconcepto físico en estudiantes universitarios en tiempos de confinamiento por COVID-19. Se aplicó el cuestionario de autoconcepto físico Physical Self Questionnaire a estudiantes universitarios. Para la selección de la muestra se utilizó el procedimiento de muestreo aleatorio estratificado con un nivel de confianza al 99% y un margen de error al 5%, para un total de 499 universitarios de Bogotá, Colombia. El instrumento obtuvo valores aceptables de alfa de Cronbach a nivel general (.943) y por dimensiones. En la percepción del autoconcepto físico a nivel general y por dimensiones los hombres obtuvieron mejores puntuaciones que las mujeres. A su vez, los estudiantes de estratos socioeconómicos más altos presentan menores puntuaciones que los de estratos más bajos. Respecto a la edad, aquellos universitarios de mayor edad presentan menores puntuaciones en autoestima, fuerza muscular, condición física y competencia percibida. Es importante dentro de las universidades la implementación de programas de intervención dirigidas a la promoción de la salud mental relacionadas con el autoconcepto físico, la imagen corporal, la autoestima, además de otros aspectos de la salud mental y física que pueden estar siendo afectados por el confinamiento COVID-19.
- PublicationOpen AccessPrevalence of unwanted loneliness and associated factors in people over 65 years of age in a health area of the Region of Murcia, Spain: HELPeN Project(MDPI, 2024-09-21) Hernández López, María Jesús; Hernández Méndez, Solanger; Leal Costa, César; Ramos Morcillo, Antonio Jesús; Díaz García, Isidora; López Pérez, María Verónica; García González, Jessica; Ruzafa Martínez, María; Enfermería; Facultades de la UMU::Facultad de EnfermeríaBackground/Objectives: Population aging poses many challenges to public health, highlighting loneliness and social isolation as severe problems that affect the physical and mental health of older adults. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these became aggravated. The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of loneliness and its relationship with social isolation, depression, cognitive deterioration, sleep quality, and the level of physical mobility and functioning of older adults in Health Area 3 of the Region of Murcia. Methods: A descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study was performed. The inclusion criteria were age ≥ 65, living in Health Area 3 of the Region of Murcia, and not being institutionalized. The following variables were evaluated: sociodemographic variables, loneliness (UCLA scale), social isolation (DUFSS), depression (GDS), cognitive deterioration (Pfeiffer), sleep quality (PSQI), and mobility (Barthel index). A univariate and multivariate regression model was created to examine how the dependent variable was related to the independent variables. Results: A total of 102 older adults participated in the study. Of these, 31.4% perceived unwanted loneliness and 14.7% low social support. The multivariate regression analysis showed that social isolation, geriatric depression, and cognitive deterioration were significant predictors of loneliness. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of developing multifaceted interventions that address not only social isolation but also other interrelated factors such as depression, cognitive deterioration, and sleep quality. The strategies should be centered on community programs and support networks. It is fundamental to perform longitudinal studies to better understand the causal relationships between these variables.
- PublicationOpen AccessReducing loneliness and social isolation through the HELPeN telephone-call program: results from a randomized controlled trial in older adults living in the community(MDPI, 2026) Hernández López, María Jesús; García González, Jessica; Leal Costa, César; Ramos Morcillo, Antonio Jesús; Díaz García, Isidora; López Pérez, María Verónica; Hernández Méndez, Solanger; Ruzafa Martínez, María; Enfermería; Facultades de la UMU::Facultad de EnfermeríaBackground/Objectives: Loneliness is a significant public health issue among older adults, especially in rural and socioeconomically vulnerable groups. Telephone-based interventions have become a scalable, cost-effective way to reduce social isolation, although evidence of their long-term effects on various health outcomes remains limited. This study aimed to assess how effective HELPeN, a structured telephone program delivered by trained nursing students, is in decreasing loneliness and enhancing psychosocial and cognitive health in community-living older adults. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 119 older adults (≥65 years) residing in the community. Participants were allocated to either an intervention group (n = 65), which received weekly structured telephone calls over 9 months, or a control group (n = 54), which received standard care. Outcomes were evaluated at baseline (M0), mid-intervention (M1–M3), and 3 months after the intervention (M4). The primary outcomes measured included loneliness and perceived social support. Secondary outcomes comprised functional status, comorbidities, depressive symptoms, quality of life, sleep quality, and cognitive function. The data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA with Greenhouse–Geisser correction. Results: Significant group interactions over time were identified for loneliness (F = 5.92, p = 0.001, η2 = 0.067), social support (F = 3.39, p = 0.023, η2 = 0.043), depressive symptoms (F = 3.87, p = 0.019, η2 = 0.046), and cognitive status (F = 5.35, p = 0.002, η2 = 0.063). No significant differences were found for functional status, comorbidity, sleep quality, or quality of life. Conclusions: The HELPeN program demonstrated significant effectiveness in reducing loneliness and social isolation, and in improving emotional, cognitive, and sleep-related outcomes in older adults. As a low-cost and scalable model, this intervention strengthens the role of nursing students in addressing social determinants of health and may be integrated into community and public health strategies targeting vulnerable aging populations.