Table 4 Older adults’ definitions of “social isolation”
Definition | Quotations |
|---|---|
Voluntary condition | “Isolation is those who no longer want to leave the house, isolate themselves, that no one comes to talk to her. Who tries to isolate herself from all the people who might even ask indiscreet questions or, thus, that she just doesn’t want to see anyone” (ID685, M, 81) |
Suffered action (exclusion) | “It is to be abandoned” (ID987, F, 80 years) |
Lack of contact with the outdoor | “A person who is in hospital or in a facility” (ID534, F, 82 years) |
Punishment/Jail | “Isolation is one that, that is, he did not behave well in life or killed someone or did, I don’t know, hurt someone and surely he takes isolation as a punishment, if he is a dangerous type” (ID1562, M, 80 years) |
Deprivation of relationships and dialogue | “It is when a person can’t dialogue…communicate with others” (ID1515, M, 79 years) |
Both a voluntary and suffered action | “Isolation is when you isolate yourself because you are angry with everyone (by character) or when you are excluded because you have a bad temper” (ID355, M, 82 years) |
A feeling | “A person feeling alone” (ID1013, F, 81 years) |