Supplementary Material for: Outcomes of Interventions for Reducing Loneliness in Elderly Patients in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit: A Randomized Control Trial

Background
Loneliness among the elderly population has been well-established as a risk factor for poor health outcomes, including increased morbidity and mortality. The study objective was to evaluate the feasibility of assessing and implementing patient-tailored interventions to reduce loneliness among elderly patients in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU).

Methods
This randomized control trial conducted at the CICU included 58 patients, 28 patients were in control and 30 in the intervention groups. The University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale and the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale were administered at the time of admission to the CICU and immediately before discharge. The intervention group was given an individualized questionnaire to determine their needs and preferences, which were used to create patient-tailored interventions provided by Cardiac Intensive Care Unit staff. The control group received standard care.

Results
The results of the study revealed that while there was no significant reduction in overall loneliness scores between the intervention and control groups, there was a significant difference in the reduction of loneliness scores for the item "I miss having people around me" (p = 0.02) in the intervention group compared to the control group. Additionally, a near significant difference in loneliness score reductions was observed for the item "I feel left out" (p = 0.05) in the intervention group. These results suggest that patient-tailored interventions focused on addressing patient-specific needs may lead to a reduction in certain aspects of loneliness.

Conclusion
This study demonstrates the feasibility of identifying loneliness in a critical care setting,
as well as developing an intervention strategy tailored to the individual patient’s needs. These findings highlight the importance of addressing loneliness in the setting of an Intensive Care Unit and provide support for the need to further explore and implement strategies to reduce loneliness in this population.

研究背景
老年人群的孤独感已被证实为不良健康结局的危险因素，包括发病率与死亡率升高。本研究旨在评估在心脏重症监护室（Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, CICU）内，对老年患者开展孤独感评估并实施个体化干预以缓解其孤独感的可行性。

研究方法
本研究为在心脏重症监护室开展的随机对照试验，共纳入58例患者，其中对照组28例，干预组30例。研究分别于患者入住心脏重症监护室时及出院前即刻，采用加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独感量表（University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale）与德容·吉尔维尔德孤独感量表（De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale）进行测评。干预组需填写个体化问卷以明确其需求与偏好，研究人员据此制定个体化干预方案，并由心脏重症监护室医护人员落实；对照组则接受常规诊疗护理。

研究结果
本研究结果显示，干预组与对照组的总体孤独感评分无显著降低，但干预组在条目"I miss having people around me"的孤独感评分降幅上与对照组存在显著差异（p=0.02）。此外，干预组在条目"I feel left out"的孤独感评分降幅上接近统计学显著性差异（p=0.05）。上述结果表明，针对患者个性化需求制定的个体化干预措施，或可缓解患者特定维度的孤独感。

研究结论
本研究证实了在重症监护环境中识别患者孤独感的可行性，同时也证明了制定贴合患者个体需求的干预策略具备可行性。本研究结果凸显了在重症监护病房环境中关注患者孤独感的重要性，并为进一步探索并实施针对该人群的孤独感缓解策略提供了依据。