Social isolation and loneliness are significant concerns in community dwelling older adults due to associated poorer health outcomes, inadequate crises responsiveness and increased societal burdens of care and cost. Generating Engagement in Networks Involvement (GENIE) is an online evidence-based, client-centred social network tool piloted by community-aged care services in Sydney, Australia. GENIE facilitates access to community resources, activities and people to extend or re-establish a client's social connections. This study aimed to identify GENIE's potential to maintain and promote social connections in older adults from the perspective of allied health professionals who could deliver GENIE. This qualitative exploratory study involved 33 participants on an emerging placement across two organisations who piloted GENIE. Data included consensus and priority statements produced from six nominal group technique-facilitated discussions, and an inductive thematic analysis of student documentation and all consensus statements. The main findings indicated that participants prioritised GENIE's clinical advantages, implementation barriers and recommendations for future implementation. The inductive thematic analysis revealed the two themes of practice applications, and client and professional experiences when using GENIE. As a time-efficient and personalised intervention, the research team concluded that GENIE could empower service providers to address the overarching needs of clients through rapidly connecting older adults to resources of their interests within the overburdened Australian-aged care system.

中文翻译：

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实施数字工具以支持与社会孤立或孤独的老年人进行有意义的互动

由于相关的健康状况较差、危机应对能力不足以及社会护理负担和费用增加，社会孤立和孤独感是居住在社区的老年人的重大担忧。在网络参与中产生参与度 (GENIE) 是一种基于证据、以客户为中心的在线社交网络工具，由澳大利亚悉尼的社区老年护理服务机构试点。GENIE 有助于访问社区资源、活动和人员，以扩展或重建客户的社交关系。本研究旨在从可以提供 GENIE 的专职医疗人员的角度确定 GENIE 在维持和促进老年人社会联系方面的潜力。这项定性探索性研究涉及 33 名参与者，他们参加了两个试点 GENIE 的组织的新兴安置。数据包括从六个名义小组技术促进的讨论中产生的共识和优先声明，以及对学生文档和所有共识声明的归纳主题分析。主要调查结果表明，参与者优先考虑 GENIE 的临床优势、实施障碍和未来实施建议。归纳主题分析揭示了实践应用的两个主题，以及使用 GENIE 时的客户和专业经验。作为一种省时且个性化的干预措施，研究团队得出结论，GENIE 可以使服务提供商能够通过在负担过重的澳大利亚老年护理系统中快速将老年人与他们感兴趣的资源联系起来，来满足客户的总体需求。