Home meal delivery significantly reduces loneliness, study finds

PROVIDENCE – Kali Thomas, Brown assistant professor of health services, policy and practice, recently published a study showing that one byproduct of Meals on Wheels’ work to deliver meals to seniors is to significantly reduce loneliness.

Thomas’ study, published in “The Journals of Gerontology: Series B,” evaluated the experiences of 600 participants in eight cities. During the course of the research, the level of isolation among many seniors emerged as even greater than Thomas, an expert in the field, anticipated.

“The number of people who reported they had no one to call on for help is a cause for concern,” said Thomas, a former Meals on Wheels delivery volunteer.
Two loneliness measures used for the study both showed feelings of loneliness declining to a significant degree, and the effect was strongest among those receiving daily deliveries.

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