On 3rd November the Department of Nursing organised another edition of the Interdisciplinary Approach to the Elderly Event. The central theme of the session, led by fourth-year students, was loneliness and isolation.

Dr Encarna Rodríguez, Assistant Director of the Nursing Department at UIC Barcelona and Co-Director of the DECIDE Chair, presented the Event and welcomed attendees. After her words, a round table was held, moderated by Cristina Rius, a student taking a bachelor’s degree in Nursing. Representatives from different areas of social health care participated in the meeting, such as Àngels Teixidor, director of the Les Vetes de Salt retirement home; David Pérez de Gracia, a nurse at Hospital Clínic in Barcelona and a lecturer at UIC Barcelona, and Joaquim Valls i Morató, holder of a PhD in Legal and Social Human Sciences from UIC Barcelona.

The second part of the session involved a presentations table, moderated by student Luis Vera, at which studies carried out by fourth-year nursing students were presented. The various projects covered topics related to the impact that the loneliness experienced by the elderly has on healthcare staff, as well as the causes and consequences of loneliness on the elderly and its prevalence.  Student Judit Munoz then moderated the presentation of the posters produced by students on the degree programme.

Following the presentation of the papers and posters, Nuria Viñeta, president of the Scientific Committee, summarised the conclusions of the Event, highlighting the importance of recognising potential situations of solitude, raising awareness and promoting good care and organising activities that encourage intergenerational relationships, as well as contact with family members who are far away through volunteering and technology. Viñeta was also in charge of giving away the prizes for best paper and best poster. First prize was awarded to a project called “Revisión de la literatura sobre la relación que guarda la soledad con el Alzheimer en la vejez” (Review of literature on the relationship between loneliness and Alzheimer's in old age) by Joan Domingo, Pablo Nogués, Sergio Castro, Alba Xirinachs y Dídac Piñol. The prize for the best poster was given for “Representación cinematográfica de la soledad en la vejez”, (Film representations of solitude in old age) by Gene Macias, Jordi Marimon, Ana Canturiense, Alvaro Castilla and Natalia Meneses.

The closing speeches of the the VIII Interdisciplinary Approach to the Elderly Event were given by Montserrat Miró, Scientific Societies Manager for the Medical Area at Boehringer Ingelheim Spain, a company that sponsors the DECIDE Chair; and Alba Fernández, coordinator of hospitalisation for medical nursing specialisations at the General University Hospital of Catalonia, and Sofia Viladevall, president of the Organising Committee.