Self-Efficacy–Based Leader Development Program to Address Loneliness in Older Adults

PURPOSE: The current study aimed to co-design an intervention and evaluate its effects on knowledge, perceived self-efficacy, group facilitation skills, and core competencies in alleviating loneliness among Thai older adults. METHOD: A quasi-experimental design with two groups and pre-/posttest measures was used. Sixty-one health volunteers from a district in Thailand were ran-domly assigned to a control group (n = 30), which received a 1-day educational ses-sion on addressing loneliness, or an experimental group (n = 31), which participated in a 7-week self-efficacy–based leader development program. Outcome measures included the Loneliness Multiple-Choice Examination and General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale. Skills and competencies were assessed using the Skills in Facili-tating Groups to Address Loneliness Scale and Loneliness Alleviation Competency Scale, with evaluations conducted by trained assessors during simulated sessions and supervised community practicums. RESULTS: The experimental group demonstrated significantly greater improve-ments in knowledge and perceived self-efficacy compared with the control group (p < .05). Furthermore, participants in the experimental group achieved proficiency in ≥75% of skills and core competencies for alleviating loneliness in older adults during real-world community practice. CONCLUSION: The self-efficacy–based leader development program effectively en-hanced health volunteers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and competencies in addressing loneliness. Structured, competency-based training can strengthen community-based interventions led by health volunteers and contribute to improved psychosocial well-being among older adults.