Social participation and the health and well-being of Canadian seniors

Abstract

Background: Social participation has been associated with health and well-being in older adults.

Data and methods: Data from the 2008/2009 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)-Healthy Aging were used to examine the relationship between frequent social participation and self-perceived health, loneliness and life dissatisfaction in a sample of 16,369 people aged 65 or older. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify significant relationships, while adjusting for potential confounders. The mediating role of social support and the prevalence of reported barriers to greater social participation were also examined.

Results: An estimated 80% of seniors were frequent participants in at least one social activity. As the number of different types of frequent social activities increased, so did the strength of associations between social participation and positive self-perceived health, loneliness, and life dissatisfaction. The associations generally remained significant, but were attenuated by individual social support dimensions. The desire to be more involved in social activities was reported by 21% of senior men and 27% of senior women.

Interpretation: Social participation is an important correlate of health and well-being in older adults. It may be that social support gained through social contacts is as important in these associations as the number of activities in which one participates frequently.