Structured telephone support reduced loneliness in older Hong Kong adults
Behavioral activation and mindfulness led to lower loneliness scores than befriending calls, with differences still present at the final follow-up.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Structured telephone interventions reduced loneliness more than befriending calls in this selected group of older adults. The reported score differences were still present at the final follow-up, but their everyday significance is unclear. The findings concern loneliness scores in this population and do not establish how these interventions would perform elsewhere.
The abstract does not explain what score change would matter to participants. The authors also identify applicability outside Hong Kong and cost-effectiveness as questions for future research.
What researchers found
Mean differences in loneliness change at 12 months
UCLA Loneliness Scale, behavioral activation and mindfulness versus befriending, respectively. 95% CIs: −1.29 to −0.16; −1.24 to −0.20.
What the comparison tested
Trained lay counselors delivered all sessions by telephone. Comparing the structured approaches with befriending calls helps distinguish their effects from those of receiving attention within this trial.
A possible social pathway
Statistical mediation analysis suggested that social isolation partly accounted for later loneliness changes. This does not establish isolation as the cause of improvement, and it did not explain the full reported intervention effect.
The original publication
Behavioral Activation and Mindfulness Interventions in Reducing Loneliness and Improving Well-Being in Older Adults: The HEAL-HOA Randomized Clinical Trial.
Tang VFY, Jiang D, Kwok JYY et al.
JAMA Netw Open · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41637070
- Record checked
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