CHAPTER 3: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
3.3 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
The following terms have been operationalized for this study (Table 1: Definition of Terms)
Table 1: Definition of Terms
Term Definition
Depression Major Depressive Disorder is defined as: “the presence of at least five listed symptoms, one of them being either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, during a continuous two week period, with a change in previous functioning” (Sadock & Sadock, 2007, p.527).
Operational definition: Scoring <13 on WHO-5 Wellbeing Index or a Kessler-6 score of ≥12.
Term Definition
Direct care staff Operational definition: Staff directly employed by the residential facility or through an agency, who have direct contact with the residents, either in the form of administrative support activities or in healthcare provision activities.
Healthcare provider Operational definition: Persons employed to provide for the healthcare needs of the residents, inclusive of care givers and persons registered or enrolled with the South African Nursing Council.
Individual social capital
Social capital is defined as: “The networks of social relations that may provide individuals and groups with access to resources and supports” (Franke, 2006, p.7).
Operational definition: The contribution of individual and group dynamics to the development of social networks (network structure, dynamics and social connectedness) that may assist a person to gain access to resources and social support(measured using Oslo-3 Social Support Scale).
Loneliness Loneliness is defined as: "the unpleasant experience that occurs when a person's network of social relations is deficient in some important way, either quantitatively or qualitatively" (Perlman & Peplau, 1981, p. 31).
Operational definition The use of 6–item Loneliness Scale developed by de Jong Gierveld and Tilburg (2006) to score not lonely (score 6); lonely (score 7-11) and intensely lonely (score12). Loneliness is further measured on two subscales of emotional and social loneliness (http://home.fsw.vu.nl/tg.van.tilburg/manual_loneliness_scale_1999.htm).
Mental wellbeing Mental wellbeing Is defined as: “A positive state of mind and body, feeling safe and able to cope, with a sense of connection with people, communities and the wider environment” (No health without mental health, WHO, 2011).
Operational definition: The use of the WHO-5 Wellbeing Index where 13 is cut off score and ≥13 is the score for mental wellbeing (WHO, 1998).
Network dynamics Network dynamics are defined as: “ how networks are actually used or mobilised to access and create resources” (Policy Research Initiative [PRI], 2005, p.7)
Operational definition: Network dynamics are measured by the perceived closeness of the respondents to those in their network structure (ranges from not very close to extremely close), and by the level of trust (likelihood to confide in those in the social network).
Network structure Network structure is defined as “A structure that refers to size, frequency of interaction, density and openness, power relationships and transience/mobility" (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2010, p.7).
Operational definition: The network structure encompasses the density of the social network (number of persons in the social network), the frequency of contact of the respondent with network members (ranging from less than annually to daily) and the type of contact (direct or non-direct contact).
Older person An older person is defined as a person older than 60 years (RSA, 2008).
Residential facility A residential facility is defined as: “A building or other structure used primarily for the purposes of providing accommodation and of providing a 24-hour service to older persons “(RSA, 2006, p.6).
Term Definition
Operational definition: The Residential facility will be referred to as such; it will also interchangeably be referred to as ‘residence’ and ‘research site’, and the older persons residing therein will be referred to as residents.
Relative A relative is defined as: “One related by kinship, common origin, or marriage.”
www.freeonlinedictionary
Operational definition: A person directly related to the respondent through marriage or blood. ‘Relative’ and ‘family’ are used interchangeably.
Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is defined as: “ Personal judgments of how well behavior can be implemented in situations that contain novel, unpredictable or stressful elements as well as ordinary situations” (Bisschop, Kriegsman, Beekman, &
Deeg, 2004, p.725)
Operational definition: The person believes that s/he can be relied on to respond efficaciously to challenges, whether of a personal or inter-personal nature, or in some way connected with the residential facility.
Social
connectedness
Social connectedness is defined as: “Relationships people have with others and the benefits these relationships can bring to the individual as well as to society” (New Zealand social connectedness, p.1).
Operational definition: The quality (measured in terms of closeness and trust) of social attachments as these relate to access to social, religious and emotional support as well as health care services.
Social network A social network is defined as: “A network characterised by its structural properties such as the network size, density, strength of ties, homogeneity (Scott 1991 as cited in Goswami et al., 2010, p.3), and [by] its functional characteristics such as social connectedness, social support, social influence and social comparison (Berkman & Glass, 2000 as cited in Goswami et al., 2010, p.3).
Operational definition Social networks are made up of the respondents’
network structure and its dynamics.
Social support Social support is defined as: “Social relationships that provide (or can potentially provide) material and interpersonal resources that are of value to the recipient, such as counseling, access to information and services, sharing of tasks and responsibilities, and skill acquisition” (Thompson, 1995, p.43, as cited in Thompson, Flood, & Goodvin, 2006, p.2).
Operational definition: Social support is measured by the number of persons available to a person in times of need, the quality and appropriateness of the support offered, and the perceived ease of obtaining practical help as measured by the Oslo-3 Social Support scale.
Technologically assisted communication
The literature distinguishes between technologically assisted communication and computer-mediated communication. The latter includes, for example, voice chat and social networking sites such as facebook®, which allow for the exchange not only of text but also audio, visual, and/or graphical information (Xie, 2008, p.730).
Operational definition: Any form of communication that is technologically assisted – for example, by devices such as the cellphone or the computer.
Term Definition
Trust Trust is defined as: “Confidence in the reliability of a person or a system. It is based on the expectation that people or organizations will act in ways that are expected or promised, and will take into account the interest of others”
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004, p.6).
Operational definition: The level of confidence people exhibit interpersonally, and also in relation to institutions of healthcare and those who provide for security in their environment.