Table 2.
Outcome categories.
| Outcomes | Acceptable measurements |
|---|---|
| Health and psychosocial outcomes | |
| Loneliness | UCLA loneliness scale, de Jong‐Gierveld loneliness scale, other scales, e.g., Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale, Hughes loneliness scale |
| Social isolation | Lubben's Social Network Scale, Social Network Index, PROMIS social isolation 6‐I scale |
| Social connectedness/interactions/networks or life satisfaction | Lee and Robin's Social Connectedness Scale; Number of contacts; Frequency of social interactions; Satisfaction with interaction; Index of support satisfaction; Support network satisfaction; Companionship scale satisfaction |
| Well‐being/Quality of life | MOS SF‐36 Health Survey; Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS); WHOQOL |
| Anxiety/depression | Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); Depression Adjective Check List (DACL) Form E; Geriatric depression scale; The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES‐D) |
| Self‐efficacy or self‐esteem | General Self‐Efficacy Scale, Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale |
| Health services use | Emergency room (ER) visits, hospitalizations, premature institutionalization |
| Adverse effects | Psychological distress, increases in social isolation or loneliness |
| Indicators of social connections | |
| Social support | Duke‐UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire, Social support scale, social Provisions scale |
| Social engagement | Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey (EMAS) |
| Social cohesion | The Group Cohesion Scale‐Revised; Group Therapy Experience Scale, Group Environment Questionnaire, measures of neighborhood cohesion |
| Social capital | The World Bank's integrated questionnaire for the measurement of social capital (SC‐IQ) |
| Cost and cost‐effectiveness outcomes | |
| Cost‐effectiveness | Cost‐effectiveness analysis, cost utility analysis |
| Healthcare or social care utilization costs | Cost of service use |
| Cost per participant | Cost of service use per participant |
| Process indicators | |
| Acceptability | Various survey tools to measure acceptability |
| Adherence | Various survey tools to measure adherence |
| Feasibility | Various survey tools to measure feasibility |
| Barriers | e.g., language and cultural barriers, financial accessibility, hearing or vision impairments |
| Increased awareness of community services | Various survey tools to measure awareness |