Social Isolation - A Current Reality in the Corridors of our Society

Volume 7 Issue 1 February - April 2017

Case Study

Social Isolation - A Current Reality in the Corridors of our Society

Hunaina Hadi*, Shamsa Hadi**

* Registered Nurse, Service Line: 24/7 Emergency and Acute Care, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.

** Registered Nurse, Service Line: Heart, Lung and Vascular, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.

Hadi, H., and Hadi, S. (2017). Social Isolation - A Current Reality in the Corridors of our Society. i-manager’s Journal on Nursing, 7(1), 29-33. https://doi.org/10.26634/jnur.7.1.13490

Abstract

Social isolation is a state of loneliness experienced by non-participative individuals (Harvey & Brophy, 2011). It is characterized by lack of social belongings, weakened engagement with others, minimal public contacts, and unsatisfying relationships (Nicholson, 2009). This paper will focus on the concern of social isolation among mentally ill clients, its consequences and few strategies to surmount it. A systematic review was conducted through electronic medium to investigate the relevant literature. Various databases, i.e. Pubmed, Google search engines, Science Direct, JPMA, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature CINHAL and SAGA were used. Manual search was also done by accessing articles from 2000 till 2015.

According to Roy's Adaptation Model (Nicolson, 2009), the client is a bio-psychosocial individual who mingles and adjusts with the varying surroundings. The outcome is the adaptive or maladaptive behavior of the individual. The adaptive performance is exhibited in four ways that are physiological, self-concept, role-function, and interdependence (Nicholson, 2009). However, failure to adaptation can result in weak self-concept, weak interdependence, and ineffective interpersonal relationships ultimately resulting in social isolation. In addition, mental illnesses like depression, schizophrenia, bipolar-affective-disorder, and personality disorders can also lead to social cut-off. Social isolation is considered to be a current issue, but actually it has always been thriving in the corridors of our society requiring comprehensive efforts for its resolution (Hamirani, 2008). For this reason, suitable steps at individual, group, and institutional levels could be effective in preventing isolation. Psychiatric nursing practice requires the implementation of the concept of social integration to enhance physical and psychological wellbeing of socially secluded clients.