“Are you lonely tonight?” If you are a senior you probably are, according to Carla Perissinotto, a doctor and a professor of medicine at the University of California in San Francisco. Perissinotto specializes in internal medicine, palliative medicine and Geriatrics.
We Need to Understand the Difference Between Isolation and Loneliness
How many close friends and relatives do you have with whom you feel at ease and can discuss private matters? How many of them do you see at least once a month? Do you participate in any groups? These are among the questions on a survey called the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index, which physicians use to determine whether someone is “socially isolated.”
Carla Perissinotto: Keeping Seniors Healthy at Home
Carla Perissinotto, MD, MHS, is a geriatrician who helps people live longer, more comfortable, more fulfilling lives. She works with elderly patients through UCSF Care at Home, which provides medical care to home-bound older adults. She visits patients in their home so she can assess their environment and determine the best care plan to keep them safe and living independently.
A patient’s level of social connection was largely treated as a personal issue until the pandemic forced us to reckon with secondary effects of social distancing and other isolating policies.
