BEFRIENding for Depression, Anxiety and Social support in residential aged care

The goal of this research is to reduce rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness and increase social support in people living in residential aged care.

This study proposes to investigate the impact of a course of befriending, delivered by trained volunteers, to alleviate primarily depressive symptoms and anxiety, improve social support, and relieve loneliness.

This research builds on previous work addressing depression and anxiety in older adults with co-morbidities, specifically chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.